Witch Hunt
by Me-Nuriko
Summary: [COMPLETE (but there might be a sequel or part 2)]Witch blood is a curse, Ban knows. But if the wrong people want you, having a pure heart may not be such a good thing either.
1. Chapter 1

Dedicated to stitcher2ficcer for being someone like me.

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Witch Hunt

Chapter one

"We've found them, Demura-sama!"

The white-haired, elderly woman looked down at the man kneeling in front of her. By the excitement in his voice she could guess to whom he was referring, but asked her great-grand son anyway:

"Who is it you have found, Shigeru?"

"The twins of light and darkness."

---

"No!" Ginji tried to catch the last piece of pizza from Ban's hand. It didn't work because Ban quickly turned around and held him off with his other hand. "Ban-chan! That was my piece!" 

Ban couldn't answer right away because he had just stuffed the quite big pizza-slice in his mouth and was now chewing fervently.

"You're right," he finally answered as he swallowed the last piece, "it was yours. But it became mine."

He smirked at Ginji at the same time as he took a step aside on the pavement to avoid the sparkles that emerged from his friend's body.

"Idiot, control yourself, you can't do that out here. You'll draw too much attention to us." 

The sparkles slowly faded away. "You're so mean, Ban-chan, I'm still hungry." Ginji threw the empty pizza-box in a trashbin and looked sulkily at his partner.

"Tsk, you owed me that pizza-slice." Ban gave Ginji an annoying grin.

"Yeah? How do you figure that?" 

"Because you dragged me away from that girl, when she was going to buy me a cup of coffee."

"She wasn't going to you buy you anything, she was going to slap you!"

The bickering kept on, until they reached the door to the Honky Tonk. They stepped into the small café and at the sight of the customers both of them stopped their arguing.

Ban stared angrily at them. Hevn was sitting in the nearest booth together with a rich-looking woman and the Monkey Trainer. Shido cast them a quick glance as they made their entrance and a smirked briefly. Ban clenched his fists, and would have gone straight to the Monkey Boy to punch him hard hadn't he been held by a firm grip around his arm by Ginji. Ban knew all too well what this scene meant.

The rich woman didn't even notice the GetBackers as they entered the café; she was on her way to say goodbye. 

"Thank you, Fuyuki-san, I trust you'll return my knife." She rose, bowed to Shido and Hevn, and left the café with not as much as a glance at the two young men standing near the door.

Ginji let go of Ban's arm and Ban went straight to Hevn. 

"Am I wrong, or did you just give another job to that Monkey Trainer!?" He pointed at Shido. 

"Yes, I did," Hevn answered calmly.

"That was the third job in a row you gave to him, instead of us!" Ban was furious. "Why!"

Hevn gave him a cold look. "Because he's here when he's supposed to be here, and you're not."

"Come on, we're only half an hour late." Ban looked important enough to make any self-centred business man proud.

Hevn wasn't impressed, though. "You were two hours late, the two previous times. It was pure luck that I could get Shido to come here before the clients got tired of waiting. This time I thought it was best to call him in from the start, just to be on the safe side. The clients are more willing to give the task to those who are reliable enough to show up in time, you know." 

"But Hevn-san," Ginji said, a little whining. "Who would have got the job if we had been here on time?"

Hevn gave Ginji a look that was just a little softer than the one she gave Ban. "I did call you first. Had you been here, you would have gotten the job."

She rose. "But if you're not here before me the next time I call you, I probably won't give you any more jobs." With that she was gone.

Shido smirked at Ban. "Maybe you should find another line of work, snake bastard. You could always start with working off your tab here."

"Maybe _you_ should go mate with a monkey, Monkey Trainer." 

Shido only smirked again, then smiled at Ginji. "See you around, Ginji."

---

Demura was pleased beyond telling, but of course she didn't let that be seen. One, the most important, of their three searches was over. Now they only needed to find the Seikon and the Sacrificer, and then they could finally carry out the sacred ritual and let their people live on for another one hundred years. 

It was a pity two of their sacred artifacts had been stolen by their rivals a couple of years ago, and they hadn't been able to take them back. They hadn't tried very hard, though; their numbers weren't large and it would be stupid to risk valuable people before the time had come when they could use it. 

The Seikon and the Sacrificer were both essential; they had to find them. Besides, she and her tribe had a pretty good idea of where the thieves kept those two items. There was no need to hurry since the enemy tribe could neither use nor destroy either of the artifacts. They had only taken them to stop Demura's tribe from using them. 

Shigeru was still on his knees. She could see he had something more on his mind.

"Who are the twins this time, Shigeru?"

"This time we can use them for more than the ritual," he said. Then he started to tell his leader all he knew about the 'twins'.

---

Swearing, Ban was pacing inside the Honky Tonk. Every time he passed the bar counter he slammed his fist into it, making Paul look more and more annoyed. Ginji followed him with his eyes, trying to say something that could calm his friend, but it wasn't easy since Ginji too felt a little hurt by not getting any jobs from Hevn. 

"Sit down and keep quiet, or get out of here!" Paul couldn't stand Ban's pacing and slamming anymore.

A quick glare at Paul told Ban that the café's owner meant what he said, so Ban tried to calm himself some and went to sit opposite Ginji in a booth. 

"How much money do we have left, Ban-chan?"

"None, and you already knew that, stupid."

Ginji sighed heavily. How long would it take before they could eat again? He was still hungry. That pizza was the first thing they had eaten since yesterday, and his share hadn't filled him up. Especially not since Ban stole the last piece. Stupid Ban-chan. If he hadn't insisted on talking to that girl they wouldn't have been late.

Paul came up to them. He crossed his arms and said seriously: "Shido is right. You should get another job, and your tab here is quite high, so..." He grinned down at them. "Now, while Natsumi is visiting her grandparents and Rena has got a cold, I could use some help here."

Ban looked alarmed. "Hell, no! We're professional retrievers, not waiters or dish-washers." 

Ginji was more deliberated. "Ban-chan, maybe we should. Just for a while, until we get another retrieval job."

Ban glared at Ginji. "Idiot! We are the GetBackers, have you forgotten that?"

Ginji tried to appeal to Ban. "No, of course not, but at least we wouldn't go hungry."

Paul went back to his work behind the counter. "Do as you wish, but you're not going to eat anything more here until you have paid at least some of what you owe me." 

At that moment the door opened again and a man in his middle thirties came in. In his hand he held one of the flyers Ban and Ginji had been out distributing this morning. He looked around and approached them hesitantly.

"I'm looking for the GetBackers." He showed them the flyer in his hand. "Are you them?"

Ban was suddenly all smiles. "Yes, that's us. I'm Midou Ban."

"Amano Ginji." Ginji smiled too.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Demura Shigeru and I would like to hire you to get back a thing that has been stolen from my family."

"Sit down and tell us." Ban gestured at the seat beside Ginji at the opposite side of the table. He always wanted the clients to sit opposite him. That way he could study them and try and figure out what kind of people they were.

"This is going to sound a little crazy," Demura said. "But we have a tradition in our family. With a few years interval, all of our family get together and carry out a small ritual. We sing and eat and such things." He looked a little embaressed. "It's my great grandmother who wants this. She says it's making our family bond strong, never to break. It's been a tradition in my family for many centuries now."

"Uhuh." Ban took up a cigarette and lit it. "What is it you want us to retrieve?"

"One of the artifacts we use in this ritual is a ball about this size." He couped his hands in the air as if he was holding a ball a little more than one decimeter in diameter. "It's made of dark wood and is carved with ancient symbols and signs. We call it the Seikon."

"The Seikon," Ginji repeated. "What do you use it for?"

Demura's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Nothing much, we're rolling it a bit, doesn't make much sense if you're not part of the family."

"Oh, sorry. None of my business." Ginji blushed a little, and Ban glared at his partner.

"That's alright. Anyway, the Seikon got stolen a couple of years ago, and this year it's time for our tradition to take place again. That's why we like to hire you to get it back."

"It got stolen a couple of years ago and you haven't tried to get it back before?" Ban said without letting any expression be seen at his face.

"Well... we thought we could do it by ourselves, but since we couldn't we decided to get help. From you."

"Have any idea who took it?" Ban asked as he blew out some smoke. 

"Yes. This is going to sound even more crazy, like it's a romantic novel or something, but our family do have an enemy. A rivaling family, by the name of Motohashi." He looked almost ashamed. "It is the truth. And it was they who took the Seikon. Please, believe me."

"Hmph." Ban snorted. "We believe you. That story isn't half as unbelievable as some other things we have had to deal with."

"That's for sure." Ginji gave Demura an encouraging smile. He turned to Ban. "What do you say, Ban-chan?"

Ban ignored his partner's question. "We're not cheap," he told Demura.

"Would 500 000 yen be sufficient?" their client asked.

Ban looked at Ginji, seeing in his eyes what he already knew would be there. A plea to accept this mission.

"600 000," Ban said. "Then the GetBackers will accept."

"It's a deal."

The conversation lasted another quarter of an hour, while Demura Shigeru gave them more details about the thieves. Before he left, Ban convinced him to give them ten percent in advance payment, which was a necessity since they didn't have enough money to fill the Ladybug's tank.

When Demura had left, Ban leant back.

"I wonder what he was lying about," Ban said.

"Lying? Was he lying, Ban-chan?"

"You didn't notice?" Ban gave his friend a fondly smile. He hadn't really expected Ginji to notice. Ginji always thought the best of everybody.

"No. Why would he lie to us?"

"How should I know, stupid." He frowned while he gave it some thought. "Maybe not exactly lying, but he definitely didn't tell us everything. There is something more to this than he told us. "

"Why did you agree to accept the request then, Ban-chan?"

"We need the money, and if we must trust all our clients we wouldn't have many jobs. All we have to do is to be a little extra cautious."

---

According to Demura Shigeru, the Motohashi family lived outside a small town about three hours drive from Shinjuku, and the Seikon was kept in the home of the head of the family. Late in the evening they left for the town, and when they reached it they drove through it to a small road leading to the mansion. 

The small road was well lit and Ban, who didn't want to announce their presence, drove his car into the forest and managed to find a fairly hidden spot were they could park the Ladybug. 

It was way past midnight, but not dawn yet, and when the lights from the car had been turned off they wouldn't have been able to see anything if it weren't for the fact that the moon was close to full and the night was cloudless.

They stepped out of the car. It was a nice night, the temperature was pleasant and the little town was too far away to disturb the night with whatever noise there would be at this hour. Ginji stood listening to the sounds of the night forest.

"Ban-chan. Can you hear the owl?"

Ban listened. Standing quietly here in the forest he could hear not only the owl, but a rich symphony of sounds that belonged to the night. Since he got together with Ginji his ability to appreciate such things had been much enhanced.

"Yeah, I hear it." Appreciate it or not, they could not stand here all night. "Come on, Ginji, we've got a job to do."

Ginji started to get back to the road.

"Hey, where're you going, moron? Are you going to knock on their door too, and ask if we could please get back the Seikon?"

"Sorry, Ban-chan, I wasn't thinking."

"Apparently not. The way through the forest is safer, and it's light enough for us to make it without any trouble. And it's shorter, you should know that too, if you had looked at the map."

Ginji was embarrassed. Ban had handed him the map and obviously meant for Ginji to look and learn, but Ginji had left it all to Ban. It was so easy, letting Ban to take care of all the practical stuff. It wasn't fair, Ginji knew, Ban shouldn't have to do everything, but most of the time Ban didn't seem to mind, on the contrary, he wanted to do it. Still, Ginji should at least be able to help Ban if he wanted it.

They started to walk through the forest. It wasn't as easy as Ban had made it sound like, but beside from a little stumbling they actually didn't have any problems. Even so it took them about 25 minutes to reach the house. In spite of the late hour they could see lights from some of the windows, and from one open window on the first floor, they heard agitated voices.

"What are they saying? Can you hear, Ban-chan?" Ginji whispered to Ban.

"No, but if we move a little closer and you shut up, maybe I can."

Ginji fell silent and they carefully but quickly sneaked their way to the house. Croaching beneath the window from where the voices were heard, they listened attentively.

"How can you stay so calm?" an anxious, quite young, male voice said.

"Believe me, I'm taking this as seriously as you do. I just don't think pacing and yelling is going to help," an older man answered.

"No, of course you're right." The first voice clearly made an effort to calm himself. "But we must make sure the thief can't get the Seikon too. After all, it's only two kilometers to your son's house, and I'll bet the burglar is on his way here now."

"Yes, he most probably is. It wouldn't do Demura much good if she got her hands on the Sacrificer but not the Seikon."

"I can't understand how he did it. The thief, I mean. They actually saw the man as he jumped out of a window and ran away, but the watch-dogs didn't seem to notice him, or didn't care. Strange. And when they tried to follow he had all but vanished." He sounded confused. "It's a pity we don't have watch-dogs."

"Why? You just told me it didn't help my son, didn't you?"

"Oh." They could hear the embarrassement in the single word.

"Don't worry. We'll guard the Seikon ourselves. I've put guards in my office upstairs and at all the stairways downstairs. If the thief wants the Seikon he must both get past my guards and crack the safe before he can leave the house with it. And there is always Toriyoshi-sama," he added. "I say it'll be impossible for the thief now that we know he's coming."

The voice faded away as the GetBackers heard footsteps walking out of the room, and a door was shut.

Ban cautiously peaked over the windowsill. There was no one in the room.

"Impossible, heh?" He snorted. "Leaving a window open to an empty room."

"What if it's a trap, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked, looking concerned. 

Ban lowered himself to sit beside his friend again and considered for a moment. "No, I don't think so. In that case they must have known we're here and then made an hell of an act. It's more likely they have no idea who they're up against. Namely the GetBackers." 

"But Ban-chan, if that conversation was real, that must mean another guy is coming here too, to get the Seikon."

"Yeah, you're right about that. Someone who has already got the Sacrificer, whatever that is." He smirked. "But he'll leave this place emptyhanded, 'cause we'll already have taken it by then."

Ban rose to climb into the mansion, but stopped. Something disturbed him, and even Ginji looked thoughtful. A guy that the watch-dogs didn't care about.

"The Monkey Trainer!" Ban burst out at the same time as Ginji gasped: "Shido!"

"That bastard was going to get a knife for that woman." Ban searched his memory for more details of the deal between the other retrieval specialist and his client, but since he hadn't heard much, he couldn't find anything. "Can that knife be this Sacrificer?"

"If it is, it sure is a scary name for a knife," Ginji said seriously. "But anyway, if it is Shido who has got the Sacrificer, he's not coming here, Ban-chan. He wasn't suppose to get a ball, too."

"At least it wasn't mentioned in the part of the conversation we overheard." Which was a very small part, Ban thought.

"If it's the same family that stole both the Sacrificer and the Seikon, do you think we and Shido have the same client, Ban-chan?"

"Could be. But why didn't they hire us to take back both items in that case?"

Ban felt uneasy. His senses told him there was something really strange going on. He shrugged it off.

"Let's just do our job; the Monkey Trainer can take care of himself. Here's the plan. We get into the house, you sneak out of the room and up the stairs and find the room with the safe. Before you get to that room knock down all guards if they try to stop you, but when you reach it you'll just pretend to fight and then let yourself be caught. Just make sure every guard must be needed to capture you."

"What! Why, Ban-chan?" Ginji didn't like the idea; it was hard to just pretend to fight. He often overdid it when he was fighting for fun.

"You'll be the decoy, Ginji. They'll think they have caught the thief and then I'll come, get their attention and fool them all with Jagan." Ban looked very proud of himself; he thought it was a brilliant plan. "Understand, Ginji?"

"Sure, Ban-chan." Ginji thought it was a good plan too. 

They silently climbed into the room through the window. The house trigged something inside Ban. A strange feeling, like the house contained something evil. It was as if a bad aura was waiting, pulsating somewhere close enough to make Ban's senses tingle. He wondered if he should tell Ginji, but decided not to. It was probably only his imagination and he didn't want Ginji to think he was a scared rabbit.

"Be careful, Ginji," he restrained himself to say. "I don't think there's any immediate danger, but you'll never know. And don't let yourself get caught until you reach Motohashi's office."

Ginji smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Ban-chan, I'll be careful."

Ban waited as Ginji opened the door and entered the hallway. He left the door a little ajar, and Ban stood by it, listening to hear what happened outside.

---

Ginji sneaked quietly to the entrance hall. He looked around a corner and saw the stairway and the guard in front of it. The young man standing guard looked bored and didn't pay much attention to what happened around him. He was probably not hired as a guard, only assigned the task without really understanding the importance of it. 

It was amazingly easy, Ginji thought, to come close to him, and it wasn't until Ginji laid a hand on his shoulder that he realized someone was there. He opened his mouth to cry out a warning, but before he could make a sound he fell to the floor, made unconscious by Ginji's electric jolt. 

Ginji looked around and saw a little cupboard under the stairs and dragged the guard inside it. That way he wouldn't be discovered immediately if anyone entered the hall. He proceeded up the stairway and as he reached the second floor he found himself standing in an empty passageway. 

Slowly he went from door to door and opened each of them cautiously. The third door he opened was clearly Motohashi's office. In the middle of the room was a large desk and from the door he could also see a big safe standing beside the window. He stepped inside, and thought he acted very convincingly as he pretended to be surprised when the guard in the room jumped him and tried to hold him, while screaming for help. Obviously this man wasn't a skilled guard either, and definitely not a good fighter, but Ginji tried to look scared as he fought the man. He was supposed to be captured, but not until all the guards had gathered in this room. Ginji tried to keep the fight on a level that made his fighting abilities look just a little more skillful than the poor guard's, to be sure the man must yell for help. But Ginji mustn't be too good, he mustn't defeat this man. 

Running steps were heard from the passageway and the room was soon filled with men. Together they managed to overpower Ginji, or so they thought, since Ginji most willingly let himself get caught. He was very pleased with himself. All the men in the house were probably here with him, congratulating themselves on their catch.

But where was Ban?

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to my reviewers. It is encouraging to hear you like it. I used to mail personal responses to those who reviewed but decided to thank you all here instead.

Naye: Don't like cliffhangers, eh? Hehe. More are coming.

stitcher2ficcer: Sorry Shido is not in this chapter, but I promise he will be back eventually.

Ice Wolf17: I do hope I will answer all the questions. In this or in future chapters.

Kinneas: Hope the update didn't take too long for you to wait for it. 

X-parrot: Yes. Bad things are going to happen.

ochibichan: Read and find out ^_^

Hope you all like this chapter too.

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Witch Hunt

Chapter two

Ban stood with his back to the room, listening attentively to know when it was time for him to make his move. He could hear Ginji's silent footsteps getting further away, then a thump that must be Ginji knocking down the guard at the stairway. There were some sweeping noises like someone was being dragged over the floor, and the soft click of a door being closed. Ban smiled; he could see as clear as if he had been there every move Ginji made. Everything was silent now, but Ban knew Ginji was on his way upstairs. How long would it take for him to find the right room?

Ban was fully focused on his partner's actions when rasp breathing behind him made him aware of someone standing there. He quickly turned around to face the eldest woman he had ever seen.

Apparently she had arrived through a now open secret door at the other end of the room. Ban swore. Shit. He hadn't noticed that door. The wallpaper was patterned in vertical stripes and the door matched the stripes perfectly. Through it he could see a windowless room lit only by candles, with stairs leading down.

He looked at the old woman before him. How the hell had that old hag managed to sneak up on him like that? As he watched her he realized that she was the source of the evil he had sensed when they entered the house. He recognized the aura now; it was a witch's aura. That he hadn't recognized it before infuriated him. Why hadn't he taken his senses seriously, only put it away as a product of his imagination? Well, even if the little old woman had some evil powers he needn't worry. He was pretty powerful himself and couldn't possible have any problems with her, even if she had some witch blood.

The woman was very small with so many wrinkles in her face you could hardly see the face at all. But among all those wrinkles was a pair of very disturbing eyes. They were completely on Ban for the moment and Ban felt like he was being pierced by invisible needles, not painful, only highly uncomfortable. He started focusing to use his Jagan, but couldn't concentrate enough to do it, and when he tried to turn his eyes away from hers, he found he couldn't do that either. He might have some problems after all.

The old woman chuckled. "My, my, if you're not one of _them_. What are you doing here, I wonder? Are you the thief they've been talking about the last hour? No, you couldn't be. We all know that the same thief can't get those two relics at the same time." In spite of the questions it was more like she was talking to herself.

One of 'them'? Ban guessed she thought he was one of the Demura clan. Well, he didn't care what she thought, more important was to get away from her. Her voice made Ban shiver. It was hissing, but clear and powerful in spite of the fact that she didn't address him. He struggled to get a grip of himself but had to wet his lips before he could speak. "Why do you care who I am, old hag? Sit down quietly on that chair and you won't get hurt," he said as arrogantly as he could master.

The woman didn't answer. Instead she pierced her eyes even deeper into Ban's. "Since we have got you, we have won," she hissed. "_They_ will become ordinary mortals, but _we_ will continue to live on. It was not wise of you to come here. I wonder if you are alone? Or is the other one with you? Well, well, in that case it seems like they have used you as thieves after all. That was a very bad move, very bad. For them, that is. Why do you wait for him? Demura must have warned you not to come close to each other after you got the artifacts? You'll soon tell me." 

She suddenly turned her face into something that would probably count as a smile, and said almost admiringly. "My, you are strong. Without the precautions I've made for cases like this I would not have been able to handle you. And my descendants who didn't even believe in my spells." She chuckled once more. "If you had been prepared for me, you probably could have gotten away, but as it is..."

She reached her right hand and took a hold of Ban's left arm. He felt a jolt when she touched him. It was not like Ginji's electrical ones; if he would have to describe the feeling it would be something like cold fire, if there ever was such a thing. The jolt spread through his body and paralyzed him. 

The old one started to walk towards the secret door, still with Ban's arm in her grip. Against his will Ban's legs made him walk beside the woman. He could hear her chanting something as they walked through the room passing the secret door. The chanting made him feel dizzy and he struggled to keep his mind clear, but he could feel his will fade away and soon he couldn't understand why he had tried to get away. In fact, there was nothing more he wanted than to go with this woman and serve her.

He followed the old woman into the secret room and she closed the door behind them. "You are mine now," she said. "Ours, more precisely, but I will be the one to handle you. Understand, my young friend?"

"Yes, obaasama." Of course he understood. He knew he was hers, and that was good, it wasn't anything she had to point out. What ever she told him to do, he would do it. He hoped she would ask him to die for her, he would love to die for her. 

"You can call me Toriyoshi," the old woman said. 

"Yes, Toriyoshi-sama," Ban bowed. 

Toriyoshi led him down the stairway he had seen before. It led to a short, dark passageway, ending in a door. They passed the door and entered a comfortable room. When the door was shut behind them, Ban could see that this door was a secret one too, hardly noticeable from this side. Not that he cared, why would he? He didn't even know how to open it, but that was alright. If he was supposed to know, she would tell him. There was another, normal door at another wall, maybe that was the door he should use?

At Toriyoshi's gesture Ban sat down in one of the two armchairs in the room. The old woman took a seat in the other.

"Tell me your name," she demanded.

"I'm Midou Ban," Ban answered eagerly. He wanted to tell this woman everything he knew about everything, but he would never do such an impertinent thing as talk without being asked. And he noticed, strangely enough, that he didn't know very much. He felt rather empty; that was okay though, because Toriyoshi-sama was there.

"Midou Ban," she murmured to herself. "And you are the dark twin."

Twin? Ban didn't comprehend, but wasn't curious. Did she say he was a twin, then he must be a twin.

"Why did you come to this house?"

"We came to get the Seikon and give it back to Demura Shigeru, our client," Ban said slowly. He wasn't really sure of who the other one in the word 'we' was. Nether did he know what the Seikon could be, or who Demura Shigeru was. 

"I see," Toriyoshi nodded contemplatively. "So you are not alone. Tell me who your partner is, and where."

Ban opened his mouth and without knowing where this knowledge was coming from he answered. "His name is Amano Ginji and he went to find the safe where you keep the Seikon." This was truly amazing; who was this Amano guy?

"Well, Ban-kun." Once again her eyes pierced his. "I want you to forget everything about Amano Ginji, the Seikon and anyone named Demura. You are working for us, the Motohashis. You have always been working for us, do you remember that?"

"Yes, Toriyoshi-sama." He had always been working for her and her family; the thought filled him with joy.

"I left the leadership of this family to my grandson Motohashi Takakatsu, five years ago. But it is still I who handle many things. I have quite a lot of of witch blood and I know how to use it. You, on the other hand, I can tell you possess untainted witch blood. But as long as you're under my spell you cannot use it for anything unless I tell you to. Understand?"

Ban nodded. Everything was crystal clear; she had witch blood, he had witch blood, if she told him to use it he would. It couldn't be any other way.

The old woman continued. "Sadly enough, most of my descendants haven't inherited the witch blood. You will be used to breed a new generation of witches. There are two girls in the family who have more witch blood than the others, and they are about your age. Your seed will bring new power to my family. You don't mind, do you?" The last was said very mockingly, but Ban didn't get that.

"Of course not, Toriyoshi-sama." It made perfectly sense. She needed his witch blood in her family, of course he was willing to provide it. He never gave any thought to the girls.

"Good. We will take care of that later. First you are going to help us against our enemies. Do you remember having heard of a family named Demura?"

Demura? No, he had never heard of them. "No, I don't recall having heard that name. They are our enemies?" After what his mistress had said, he said it as a statement of fact rather than a question.

"Correct. They want you, to make their clan live on, but instead you are going to let our family be the surviving tribe. Both we and the Demuras are more or less immortals, at least we have an extended lifespan - that is, if we can go through with a ritual every one hundred years. For every one hundred years we only age five years. Our ritual will be held in ten years, but the Demuras have to do it in the near future if they are going to keep up their immortality. You will help us destroy the Demuras."

Ban listened attentively. He was glad he was going to help with such a worthy cause.

"You will help us protect an item called the Seikon. Have you heard of that?" The old woman made some probing to see if Ban still had any remembrance of his mission given him from the Demuras. But Ban shook his head. "No, what is it?"

"It's a sacred wooden ball, currently it is in my grandson's safe in his office, and I will put you on guard there. If it's no too late, of course," she added. "If it is, you'll be the one to get it back. That or another item, a knife called the Sacrificer. You don't happen to have the Sacrificer here, do you?"

"No, but I'll get them both if it's necessary." Ban was very eager to show how well he could serve her and her family.

"Just as I thought. Demura did hire someone else to take back the Sacrificer," Toriyoshi murmured to herself.

"No, Ban-kun, you can't take them both." Again she addressed Ban. "At least not at the same time. The two items contain an ancient demonic power, that brought together will let loose an evil entity on the earth. Something not even you with your powers can handle." She looked thoughtfully at Ban. "At least not yet."

She continued. "Those two items were created and filled with powers by my grandparents, more than one thousand years ago. Unfortunately, my grandparents are also old Demura's grandparents. As the first born, Demura's father inherited the Seikon and the Sacrificer. My mother was left with nothing." Even though a very long time that had passed since then, her voice was bitter.

"My mother, who was almost as powerful a witch as my grandmother, let create copies of both the sacred ball and the knife. They fulfill their purposes but are not as powerful as the originals. That means we have to make bigger sacrifices at our rituals. Unfortunately we cannot use the originals either. They are attuned to Demura's blood line."

She rose from the chair. "I think that is all you need to know for now. You shall sit here and wait for me to come back and give you your orders. Understand, Ban-kun?"

"Yes, Toriyoshi-sama." Ban rose, bowed and sat down again as Toriyoshi left the room. 

---

Ginji stood still, held by two men. One was actually pretty strong and quite a good fighter, but Ginji didn't think he would have had any problems with these men if he had fought for real. The man that probably was Motohashi stood talking to one of the others. The guard seemed utterly pleased that they had caught the thief and Motohashi was equally pleased but still not relaxed. He looked like he wasn't sure it was over.

Ginji waited for Ban to come and put his Jagan on all of them, but Ban didn't show up. How long could it take for him to get here? It shouldn't take this long, should it? As Motohashi gave the orders, Ginji, trusting Ban as always, waited patiently and let the men tie his arms behind his back. He waited a little longer and let them tie his feet together and push him down to the floor. Still no Ban-chan.

Motohashi bent down to talk to him.

"Who are you?"

The simple question gave Ginji a start. He hadn't thought about what he would answer if someone started to ask questions. Of course he never would have thought that would be necessary. Ban was supposed to be here by now. Ginji decided not to answer anything at all, so he stayed quiet.

"Answer, boy!" Motohashi's tone was arrogant but with a hint of anger. Ginji still said nothing. The older man moved.

"Ng!" Ginji let out a muffled sound when his temple hit a chair near his head as he was slapped.

"You'd better answer me, boy. It's not such a difficult question. Let's try again. Who are you?"

Ginji was thinking fervently. Would it be a mistake to tell the man his name? No, he couldn't give in to him. It would be like admitting the man's right to hit him. On the other hand, Ginji was the trespasser here, so maybe Motohashi did have some right to ask questions? But no. He was on a mission, he wasn't going to tell this man who hit tied up people anything.

As a respons to his stubborn silence, Ginji was hit again. This time it was a hard punch in his stomach. That only made Ginji even more stubborn. His anger was rising but he couldn't come free, maybe Raitei could burn his ropes away; but he wasn't angry enough that he would lose control to him yet. Besides, Ban-chan would be angry with him if he did. 

His thoughts were interrupted as he was hit a third time. This time it was a fist on his jaw and for a while everything went black.

He came to about ten minutes later and at first he didn't understand where he was. But Motohashi's face near his own, the man's arms shaking him, made it all come back to him quite quickly. The shaking stopped and Motohashi let Ginji's body fall down on the floor again, as a little noise was heard. Someone was at the door. Ban-chan. Finally. Ginji turned his head a little to he see his friend, but it wasn't him. It was a little old lady, and all the men in the room bowed respectfully to her when she entered.

"Tell your men to leave us alone, Takakatsu," she ordered her grandson. 

Motohashi gave the order and the men left the room, leaving Ginji lying on the floor.

"What's the matter, Toriyoshi-sama?" Motohashi asked.

The old woman looked down at Ginji. "He is not alone," she told her grandson. "I caught the other one and put him in the cellar."

Ginji gasped in surprise. Ban-chan was caught? And by a little old, fragile woman like that? Now what was he supposed to do?

Motohashi frowned. "There're two of them? My son never mentioned that."

"Oh, yes there are. And they are no ordinary thieves. They are _their_ _twins_!"

That statement made Motohashi give a start. "What! How do you know?"

"You should know better than questioning my powers, Takakatsu-_kun_," his grandmother said. "They are the twins, and now the question is what you are going to do with them. I put the other one under my spell. It might be more difficult with this one, though." She looked thoughtfully at Ginji. 

Motohashi bent down and began searching Ginji. "Did the other one have the Sacrificer on him? This one doesn't seem to have it."

"Of course he doesn't. You know he wouldn't have been able to get this close to the Seikon if he had. The other didn't have it either. It looks like Demura sent one thief to take back the Sacrificer and these two to get the Seikon. You did it in a similar way when you stole the relics from them."

"You're right. How could I forget?" Motohashi looked embarassed. He must have been very upset by this whole matter to let that slip from his mind.

Ginji had no idea what they were talking about. The only thing he understood was that Shido had been hired to take back the knife, and the GetBackers the ball. And that there was a reason why neither could get them both. But what that reason could be he couldn't understand. And the other stuff she had said... Twins? He and Ban were most certainly not twins. But now he knew what he had to do. If that woman had put Ban under a spell, and now was thinking about what she would do to himself, he had to act quickly before it was too late. 

The pair of them stood quite close to each other. That was good, Ginji thought. He slowly began gathering energy from the surroundings, trying not to let any sparks be seen outside his body. When he'd gathered enough he threw himself at the woman and her grandson. As he reached them, he flashed them with a jolt big enough to make them unconscious, but not big enough to kill them.

The attack was successful. Both the man and his grandmother fell down on the floor almost on top of Ginji who quickly rolled away. Step one had went well, now to step two - getting free from this ropes. At the wall was a stand with katanas and Ginji crawled over to it. He turned his back to it and managed to get a grip on one of the swords. It fell rattling to the floor. Ginji hold his breath, hopefully no one had heard the noise. 

As there was no big turmoil because of the sound, not immediately anyway, he grabbed the sword behind his back and unsheathed it. He could feel it had a sharp edge. Good, this was not a fake one. Ginji sawed the ropes around his wrists against the edge of the sword, and it was only a matter of seconds before his arms were free. Quickly he untied his legs and rose to go find Ban.

No, wait. First the Seikon. Ban-chan would be angry with him if he didn't took the opportunity to get the Seikon now when he was alone in this room.

He took a look at the safe. It had an ordinary lock, not a combination. Ginji went back to the unconscious Motohashi and searched him. In one of his pockets Ginji found a large set of keys, among them one looking very much like it would be the key to the safe. He wriggled that one free from the others and tried it. Yes, it was the right one; the safe's door swung open. Ginji examined the contents of the different shelves. On the highest shelf he found a wooden box, closed only by a hatch. He opened it and looked down on a wooden ball with carvings lying on red velvet. That was the Seikon for sure. 

He closed the box again and managed to stick it inside one of his big pockets. It hardly fitted but it would do. He wanted his hands to be free. Now it was time to find Ban-chan.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry you had to wait. I have been busy with my exams and then my beta was busy. 

stitcher2ficcer - In for far worse? How can you believe that sweet little me am letting bad things happen to poor Ban and Ginji? ^_~

cmquietone - As I sad sorry for letting you wait.

Ai-chan3 – Glad you liked it. Here's another cliffhanger. (Love to keep my readers in suspense.) 

X-parrot – Yeah, I've noticed in your fics ^_^. It's kind of fun writing such, isn't it?

Naye – Things do depend on Ginji now. Hope you don't' find him too much OOC in this chapter, but I'm innocent. I just write down what they are doing o_o 

ladyvelveeta – Nice to have you with us. New GB fangirls always welcome. And I'm like you and love Ban and his 'witchiness' ^_~

Sheron – I'm flattered. Hope I'll not disappoint you. 

Witch Hunt

Chapter three

Quietly, Ginji opened the door and peeked out. No one was in sight. He hurried to the stairs, and was soon back in the entrance hall. Now, where was the cellar? From behind a door to his left he heard voices approaching. He quickly opened the door to the cupboard where he had hidden the guard and slid in, closing the door behind him. The guard was lying, still unconscious, on the floor and Ginji did his best not to step on him in the cramped area.

The owners of the voices were now in the entrance hall. Ginji peeked out and saw two young women in their nightdresses, anxiously talking to each other. 

"What did Toriyoshi-sama mean?" one of the girls asked. "Did she say there is a young man for us? In the cellar? But we are not supposed to meet him yet? I wish she had said something more. But she seemed to be in a hurry." 

"Yes, but we'll soon find out," the other one answered. "She said she needed to talk to father and then she would be coming back to talk to us. I wonder when she comes. Oh, this night has been so weird. I haven't been able to sleep at all since that phone call."

The older girl nodded. "Me neither. I'm glad you are awake too." She yawned. "I still wonder what Toriyoshi-sama meant when we met her in the kitchen."

The younger one looked slyly at her cousin. "Let's get to the cellar and see if we can find that boy!"

A giggle was heard from the older girl. "You're crazy, you know that? She told us not to. What if she comes back and finds us there?" There was a hint of hesitation in her voice but curiosity had soon taken over. "Alright, let's do it!"

Ginji saw the girls open another door and heard one of them say before the door closed behind them: "I hope he's handsome."

Ginji couldn't help but smile. Yes, he's handsome alright. Quietly he left the cupboard and sneaked over to the door where the girls had disappeared. There was a stairway behind it and he followed the girls' voices downstairs. 

He reached the bottom and was standing in a small room with three doors. The one in the middle was closing before his eyes and Ginji cautiously opened it. It led to a big room with one door in the left wall and one at the opposite end of the room. The room was empty except for the two girls now standing in front of the door straight ahead. They opened it and disappeared inside. 

Ginji walked across the room and listened. From the other side he could hear voices and one of them was Ban's. He opened the door. Behind it was a comfortable room with a small window to the left high up near the ceiling. Since it was dark outside, four lamps on the walls lighted the room. On the floor lay a thick carpet; there was a big bed, a table and two armchairs. In one of them Ban was sitting, facing the door, with the two girls standing in front of him. The girls turned towards Ginji as they heard him open the door behind them.

Before he had a chance to reflect on what he was doing, Ginji let a flash reach each of the girls and they both dropped unconscious to the floor. Not caring about anything else but his Ban-chan, Ginji eagerly stepped over the bodies and…

"Ban-chan!" Ginji threw himself at Ban and embraced him. He loosened the embrace and rose, dragging Ban up from the chair.

Ban unkindly took his arms and pushed him away. "What do you want?" he asked. 

"Eh? Ban-chan? I got the Seikon. Hurry, we must leave this house now." Ginji was a bit puzzled by the strange look in Ban's eyes. What kind of spell had that woman put on him? It looked like he could move alright at least. In Ginji's mind, Ban had been immobilized, and Ginji should have to carry him out of the house. There the spell would be broken and they could go on with their mission. It didn't look like it was that kind of spell, though.

"I'm not going anywhere. Why would I follow you? Who are you?" Ban stared at Ginji with a condescending expression on his face, but he felt confused. Wasn't the Seikon mentioned in the conversation he'd had with Toriyoshi-sama earlier? And did this guy says he has got the Seikon? Toriyoshi-sama had said something about him being put on guard to keep the Seikon safe. Was he supposed to take it from this guy now? As a matter of fact, he had promised her to take it back if it had been stolen. Ban decided to wait a little longer before he took the Seikon back from this boy. He was sure he could handle the guy if he turned out to be a threat, but Toriyoshi-sama had said Wait for my Orders. She hadn't mentioned anything about what to do in a situation like this. 

"Ban-chan!" Ginji gasped. "It's me, Ginji, your partner, your best friend, remember?" 

Ban frowned. "No, I don't remember you." He gave Ginji a considering look. The name Ginji had also been mentioned, he was sure about it, but he couldn't remember why. Not as a partner, or was it? 

"I see no reason why I should follow a guy I don't know, and frankly, I don't I like you." He sat down again. "I'm waiting for my orders and I haven't heard anything about a partner so if you give me the Seikon and then leave the room it would be much appreciated." 

A sharp pain in Ginji's heart made him almost bend over. He now understood what kind of spell the old woman had put on Ban. It hurt. It hurt so badly. Ban-chan didn't recognize him, said he didn't like him. Ginji had to sit down in the other chair.

"I asked you to leave," Ban said in a cold voice.

"Wait... wait..." Ginji struggled to come up with something that could make Ban listen and remember. First of all they had to get out of here as quick as possible.

"I... was sent here by Toriyoshi-sama," he managed to say at last, remembering the name he had heard Motohashi call the old woman. "She told me to get you. You and I are going to team up, we've been partners before." That at least was the truth. "Will you please follow me, you'll soon get the rest of your orders."

Ban seemed to consider this. Maybe Toriyoshi-sama had said that Ginji was his partner after all. But what about the Seikon? Ban's confused mind couldn't follow, but now when he looked at the boy before him more thoroughly, he could see that the blonde kid was quite cute, and his eyes somehow made Ban feel he should trust him. Maybe this guy wasn't a thief after all; they could be on the same side. It was a possibility that Toriyoshi-sama had sent this boy to give him his orders. And if the kid was lying he could always knock him down later and take back the Seikon. Somehow everything seemed to be a little unclear when he tried to think, but Ban believed he had come up with the right solution. "Alright. If she ordered me to have you as my partner I'll be patient about it. What are we supposed to do?"

Ginji was thankful Ban didn't seem to be able to think straight. As far as Ginji could see, Ban didn't care at all about the two girls lying unconscious on the floor.

"Eh... first we have to get out of this house." Ginji looked anxiously at the door, half expecting to see Motohashi, or worse – his grandmother, coming through it. "We must be careful so no one sees us."

"Why?" Ban demanded an explanation. "Why can't Toriyoshi-sama's other servants see us?"

"Well... you see..." Ginji was desperately trying to find a good excuse for this. He wasn't used to this. Ban was the one that was supposed to do the thinking.

"There is... a spy among them, and... we don't know which one it is. So no one must know we are leaving the house." Lame, Ginji, really lame. He wished he could come up with something better, but Ban only nodded. 

"Then we have to be careful as you said." He gave Ginji a contemptuous look. Cute the boy may be, but he looked kind of useless and he had no need for useless. "If Toriyoshi-sama said you should be my partner I guess I have to stand you, but it's not going to be easy. You look disgustingly innocent and harmless - what good can you be to Toriyoshi-sama?"

"Ban-chan..." Ginji said in a hoarse voice, his heart almost stopping. He cleared his throat. "Ban-chan, I..." He was interrupted by Ban's fist at his jaw.

"You should call me Midou-san." Even if that boy had to be his partner and was sent by Toriyoshi-sama, he should know how to address him in a proper way. It was only logical to show the guy who was going to be in charge. That blond kid might have been given order to get him and get out, but as soon as they had reached wherever they were going, they would get the rest of their orders and then Ban would be the leader, of that Ban was absolutely sure.

Ginji sat on the floor where he had fallen. All kinds of emotions were fighting in him at that moment. Midou-san... His Ban-chan hit him and told him to call him Midou-san! Part of him wanted to sit down and cry, part of him was scared someone would come and find him here, but the biggest part of him was furious. How could that woman do this to his dearest friend? And why? It seemed like an awful lot of trouble just to deal with a couple of thieves. Of course, if she hadn't done it she wouldn't have been able to stop them. But how did she know how to handle Ban, and how did she do it? 

If she had put a spell on Ban she must be a witch, he guessed, but he hadn't heard of any other witches than Maria. Or hadn't Himiko witch blood, too? Ginji wished he knew a little more about these things, but this was one thing Ban wasn't willing to talk about much. Ginji only knew what he himself had experienced.

He swallowed. "Okay, Midou-san." The word sounded strange in his mouth. He wanted to scream at Ban, shake him, make his partner recognize him. But all that had to wait until they were out of this building.

"We're supposed to get out in the forest, without being seen, as I told you."

"Why?" Ban crossed his arms in front of him. A little more explanation was necessary in his opinion. 

Ginji sighed in desperation. Stupid Ban-chan, why couldn't he just do as he was told for once?

"You'll get the rest of your orders out there." Ginji pleaded.

"You've already told me that. What about the Seikon? You are bringing it with you? Why?" Ban's voice was as cold as ice.

Ginji swallowed again. That voice was a terrible thing to hear. All he could do was to pretend that everything was exactly the way Toriyoshi wanted it.

"Yes, of course I am. You'll soon know why. Can we please go now?" he begged, staring with big puppy-dog eyes at Ban.

Ban frowned when he saw Ginji looking at him that way. "You're quite childish, aren't you?" he said in the same cold voice. "Alright, I'll come with you, but it better be as you've said or it'll be my pleasure to teach you how to treat Toriyoshi-sama's loyal servant!"

Ginji couldn't help but shudder at Ban's words. He always hated not being together with Ban, but with a Ban acting like this he would rather be alone. Ginji only hoped he would be able to snap Ban out of this somehow. A spell, the old woman had said, but Ginji didn't know anything about breaking spells. Well, first things first. And that would be to get Ban out.

He turned to the door. "Let's go... Midou-san."

"I thought you might be here, Amano Ginji." The voice Ginji had dreaded was heard behind him. He slowly turned back towards it. Toriyoshi and her grandson had arrived through a secret door at another wall, and the old witch was staring at Ginji with unpleasant eyes. 

Ban was relieved to see her. He had been confused, but now she would tell him how to react, and tell him if this boy had been lying. Apparently he had.

Toriyoshi laid a hand on Ban's arm. "Ban-kun, if he attacks, you take care of him. I don't want him dead, just immobilized. Can you handle it?"

"Of course, Toriyoshi-sama."

In a tenth of a second Ginji made his decision. He couldn't attack, fighting against Ban-chan in the enemies' lair would probably end in a catastrophe. On the other hand, he couldn't surrender either. The only option left meant he had to leave Ban here a little longer, but he would come back for him. Before Ban or any of the others was able to react, Ginji fled.

He ran. From the smaller room into the big empty room. Running over to the door that looked like it was right in the wall at the back of the house. It was locked but easy to unlock from the inside. He hurriedly did so and found he was in luck. The door led to the outside with stairs leading up to the garden. Quickly he ascended and reached the garden. 

It was still dark but the moon made more than enough light to let him make a run over the lawn towards the forest. When he reached the trees he didn't stop, he plunged deeper into the forest wanting to make as great a distance as he could between himself and the Motohashis, before he must stop to think.

Finally he stopped. Doubts took a hold of him. Had he done the right thing? Maybe he should have stayed and fought? No, he wasn't sure of the outcome if he had stayed. This way he at least was still free to help Ban-chan.

* * *

Still with her hand on Ban's arm, she asked him: "What did he say to you, Ban-kun?"

"He said he had got the Seikon," Ban answered. "And that you had ordered him to get me since he and I were going to be partners. I was supposed to follow him out to the forest where we would get further orders."

"And were you going to follow him?"

"Yes, but I wasn't sure he told the truth. If I had found out he wasn't I would have taken the Seikon back to you." He was embarrassed he more or less had fallen for the guy's lies, but he had no intention to keep anything back from Toriyoshi-sama.

"Tell me, did he mention anything about the Sacrificer?"

"No, nothing."

Toriyoshi turned to Motohashi Takakatsu who was kneeling by the girls, checking their pulses and breathing. "It seems I have made a mistake, Takakatsu."

"A mistake? What kind of mistake?" Motohashi rose, satisfied that the girls were no more harmed than he and his grandmother had been.

"I have got this feeling that the man who took the Sacrificer is important to us. It's the same feeling I get when we are looking for our victims to the ritual. In other words, I think he is one of those we must sacrifice in ten years." She looked thoughtful. "You should have sensed it too. As soon as the thief was mentioned we both should have sensed it. Maybe we didn't because it's a little early. The search isn't about to begin until another five years have passed."

"I still don't understand why you said you made a mistake."

"I also feel that these twins know who the thief is. I should have asked Midou Ban before I took his memory away."

Her grandson was a little confused. "Can't you give him his memory back and ask him?"

"I could, but that would be dangerous. In just a few seconds he would remember everything and he will react to it. Since he is very powerful I can't risk that. But I think I know how to correct the mistake."

Again she addressed Ban. "Ban-kun. Amano Ginji is most certainly coming back for you again. When he does, you shall follow him."

"I'll do that, Toriyoshi-sama."

"Then you must find out as much as you can about the thief who took the Sacrificer. When you have done that, kill Amano and bring the Seikon back to me. If he doesn't know, or doesn't want to tell you, bring him back together with the Seikon. Understood?"

Ban was relieved to receive orders telling him what to do. It had been frustrating not knowing what to do with Amano Ginji. "Of course, Toriyoshi-sama." 

"In the mean time, you can take care of another matter." She looked at the two girls lying on the floor and pointed at the elder one. "Carry her and follow me." 

Ban bent down and lifted the girl. He followed the old woman through the secret door, walking behind her all the way to the second floor where they left the secret passages and was now standing in the public part of the house. Motohashi was right behind them, carrying the younger girl in his arms. Toriyoshi showed Ban in to a bedroom and motioned him to put the girl down on the bed. Motohashi disappeared to another room with the other girl.

"Since the Seikon no longer is in the house, we can just as well start the breeding procedure. This girl is in the right phase to get pregnant. You will sleep with her and she will bring the first child in a new generation of witches to us." There was a glint in her eyes that could only be described as evil. "To make sure this will happen I will cast a minor spell over you two before you start. But the girl needs to be awake. I want you to sit here and wait. When she awakes, you ring this bell," she pointed at a rope hanging from the ceiling besides the bed. "Then I'll come to cast the spell."

Remembering his frustration before, Ban had to ask. "What do I do if Amano comes back now?"

Toriyoshi sighed a little. "It would be unfortunate if he comes back before you can complete this task, but in that case you must follow him anyway. You can always finish this when you are back."

"I understand. I will do as you say, Toriyoshi-sama." Ban bowed and the witch left the room.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

I'm glad so many people like this story. Thanks to all my reviewers. (And I don't understand at all why people is telling me I'm evil? o_o)

Naye: True, it's not fair. But that's life, isn't it. 

stitcher2ficcer: From Toriyoshi's point of view it's probably a very good idea to use Ban as a breeder, don't you think ^_^

X-parrot: It's so fun making Ginji do the thinking. It's not easy for him.

TaoStrife: I know. Calling Ban-chan 'Midou-san' must really hurt Ginji. 

Ai-chan3: Oh, I do hope you haven't exploded yet.

RileyJinx: Yes, it really is quite a mess, isn't it? 

Ladyvelveeta: Ooops, you're review for chapter 3 wasn't up when I posted this chapter, but of course I thank you too. So I resend this chapter to make you feel still welcome. ^_^

Witch Hunt

Chapter four

Ginji sat leaning against the trunk of a big pine, trying to think. He hated everything about this. How could he rescue Ban? It would be much easier if the situation was the opposite. If Ban had to rescue him, he would have thought about something brilliant that immediately would have snapped Ginji out of the spell and let them both out of the house with the Seikon. Ginji sighed. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It was Ban who should do the thinking. 

He remembered what Ban used to say when Ginji complained about how stupid he was, never being able to come up with anything. 'You're not stupid, Ginji. Just stick to what you know with your heart and everything will turn out just fine.' What he knew with his heart. What did he know? Well, first of all his heart told him that he loved Ban-chan and that his partner had to be rescued. That was the most obvious fact. What did he know more? That it was Ginji himself who had to do the rescuing. Ginji sighed again. Was this knowledge really useful? He also knew where Ban was. If they didn't move him! That might be a useful insight. He must get back to the house and keep a watch so that they didn't take Ban out of the house, or if they did, where they went.

Happy to have found something he must do, Ginji rose and started his way back to the house. Fortunately it wasn't as far as he had thought. Deep inside he must have kept his bad sense of direction in mind, and his mind hadn't let him run that far.

It was still too early in the morning to have become any lighter. The first hints of dawn was a couple of hours away, so the only bird awake was the owl hooting just a little bit away; Ginji, for once, didn't hear it. He could think of nothing but Ban. The Motohashis were turning Ban against him. What if that was irreversible? Ginji couldn't care less about the Seikon or the Demuras right now. All he wanted was his Ban-chan back. Ban as his enemy? That thought made him feel so sick he had to stop to get a hold of himself. A tear trickled down his cheek. Of course Ban would come back to normal. Ban-chan would smile at him again and call him a stupid moron. Angrily he swept away the tears, there was no need for such stupid emotions, everything would be fine.

The house lay in front of him. The only windows with light were one to the right on the ground floor and one to the left on the second floor. The one they had used to get inside the house before was closed and dark. Ginji went to the back of the house. It was even darker there because there were no windows with lights coming out on this side. But the moon was still bright enough to make him able to see the stairs down to the door from which he had left the mansion in such a hurry a little while ago. It had been locked from the inside, but he had unlocked it. Would it still be unlocked? Ginji walked down the stairs and felt the doorknob. No, it had been locked again.

He circled the house, cautiously feeling all the windows on the ground floor. All of them were closed and properly hatched. He looked up to the second floor. The windows up there all looked closed too, and besides, he couldn't see any ladder or anything else he could climb on. That wouldn't stop him of course, there was always a way to climb if you wanted too. But before he did any climbing, he tried the main door on a hunch. It wasn't locked!

Ginji stiffened when the door moved as he turned the doorknob. He hadn't expected it to be open. The door opened silently on its hinges, and it was dark inside. Ginji tried to listen. He thought he could hear faint voices coming from the right. Probably from the room where he had seen light from a window. Could Ban be there? He followed the sound of the voices until he stood outside a door standing a little ajar. From inside the room he could hear Toriyoshi's voice. It sounded monotonous, like she was reading something. Ginji leaned closer to the door. Yes, she was reading yesterday's newspaper! Motohashi was also in that room, sometimes commenting something she just had read. They seemed utterly relaxed. Ginji just couldn't get it. Why didn't they worry about him? Didn't they care if he was coming back or not? Or did they just not think of him as a threat? It could be they had set a trap for him, of course. Ginji shrugged mentally. Be that as it may, he still had to rescue Ban-chan. Somehow. 

Obviously Ban wasn't in this room at least. Ginji stood silent outside the door a little longer to hear if they should mention Ban. They didn't, all they did was reading and commenting the articles in the newspaper. 

Maybe Ban was still in the cellar? Or maybe in the room upstairs where he had seen the light? Or maybe in another room, or in another house? Ginji felt frustrated; where would he start looking? He made a new effort to think. The cellar, he should start with the cellar. It had looked like that was the room Ban had been given, he was probably still there. 

This time Ginji knew the way to the cellar and in spite of the darkness in the house and the fact that he had to move quietly, he managed to find the stairs down without any trouble at all. Not a sound was heard as he sneaked his way to the room where Ban had been sitting. He opened the door. It was dark inside but Ginji lit the lamp and found the room empty. So where was Ban now? Ginji decided to try for the room on the second floor with the lit lamps. 

Still no one had disturbed his search. There was not a guard around; no one at all. It seemed like they all had gone to bed after he had fled from the building. Except Toriyoshi and Motohashi sitting with a newspaper! Ginji was very tense. It must be a trap. Sometime soon they would attack and he had to be prepared when they did. Suddenly he remembered he still had the Seikon in his pocket. That was really stupid. Of course he should have hidden it in the forest before he came back here. Ginji could have kicked himself. Ban-chan would have been so angry had he known. Well, all he could do now was to make sure he wasn't going to get caught. If they didn't catch him, they wouldn't get the Seikon. That much he could figure out after all.

Still without any disturbance from anyone, he managed to reach the second floor. It was quiet here. On silent feet he walked to the left, seen from the outside of the house. Somewhere here must be the room with the lit lamp. Ginji listened; not a sound was heard. He started to look at the keyholes. He was right. From one of them was a small light showing a lamp was lit in that room.

Ginji took a deep breath before he opened the door. This could be a trap. Ban could be in there or not. He could be alone or not. He could attack him or someone else could. Ginji prepared himself and then opened the door.

The door didn't make a sound as it swung open, but Ban, sitting in an armchair much like the one in the cellar, still looked up immediately. There was no surprise in his eyes. 

"So you did come," was all he said.

Ginji swept his eyes over the room. Besides Ban, one of the girls Ginji had made unconscious before was in the room. But the girl hadn't regained consciousness and was lying on the bed. Ginji felt a little guilty; the girl was innocent as far as he knew. He shouldn't go strike down people without good reason. He just had been so eager to get to Ban that he for a moment only had seen the girls as Motohashi-witches. Which they probably were, he reminded himself, but they hadn't attacked him and he might have handled it in a better way. 

Anyway, there was nothing he could do about that right now. The girl had not been badly hurt, he knew that at least. Ginji turned his attention on Ban who had done nothing since he had entered the room. 

"Ban-ch… I mean Midou-san," he began, then silenced. He had no idea of what to say next. As a matter of fact he didn't know what he had expected. No plan at all, only a hope to find Ban-chan… _Well, Ginji, here he is. What do you do now?_

Ban broke the silence. "Amano Ginji, eh? Still want me to follow you to the forest?" 

Ginji licked his mouth, his lips were awfully dry. "Eh… Yeah. I guess." 

Ban rose. "Let's go then."

Ginji stared at him, mouth wide open. _This_ he had definitely not expected. Ban was still under the spell, that much he understood. But he hadn't attacked him; instead he suggested they would leave the house. Why? This must be a trap. But if they wanted him, why didn't they catch him in here? He looked suspiciously at Ban.

"Ba… Midou-san. What did Toriyoshi tell… I mean, Toriyoshi-sama tell you about me?" he staggered.

Ban shrugged. "Nothing," he said. "All she did was to make me carry the girl to this room and tell me to ring for her when the girl woke up."

Ginji frowned. This didn't seem quite right. Ban didn't recognize him, so why shouldn't Toriyoshi had said something about a strange guy standing in his room with two unconscious girls on the floor?

"Did you ask her about me?" he asked cautiously. 

"No, why should I?" came Ban's calm answer. 

Ginji could feel something was wrong here. What should he do? Ban _wanted _to follow him to the forest? What was the explanation to all this? He wished he at least could find a solution to how he should respond to the situation. Could it be that Ban had been told to follow Ginji to the forest? If that was the case, then what would happen when they came there? Ginji was frustrated, he wasn't used to this much thinking. _If_ the Motohashis wanted Ban and Ginji alone in the forest for some reason, than Ginji had to change some variable in their plan. Maybe if…? 

First he must distract Ban. He took a step closer to his partner. 

"Who is this girl, Midou-san?" he pointed at the girl on the bed. As expected Ban turned his head to look at the girl and at that moment Ginji struck. Taken by surprise, Ban hit the floor with a thump and lay still. 

Ginji stared at him, feeling exhausted even though he hadn't done anything physically exhausting. Then he lifted Ban's body and left the room. 

Not a sound was heard in the passageway. That was really creepy. Ginji almost wanted someone to attack him; that would be something familiar that he knew how to respond to. But he wasn't disturbed. Without a single person seeing him, he reached the front door and left the building. 

Ban was hanging limp from his shoulder but his weight didn't bother Ginji. What bothered him was how easy this had been. It shouldn't have been. Ginji almost ran over to the edge of the forest where he could at least pretend he had some protection.

He staggered a little as he pushed his way through the woods with his burden. All the time he was expecting an attack, but none came. 

After a while he put Ban down under a tree, sat down beside him and waited. Waited for something to happen; an attack, Ban waking up, anything. Ginji sighed very heavily. It seemed to him he had done a lot of sighing lately. Well, he couldn't help it. As long as Ban wasn't really Ban, he didn't feel like much more than sighing.

Ginji put his arms around his knees as he sat by Ban's side. He lifted his head to see if he could see the stars, preferably a shooting star. He knew what he would wish for. Even though he couldn't see any star to wish upon, he still whispered. 'I wish Ban-chan is back to normal again when he wakes up.' 

At that moment Ban stirred and opened his eyes.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji asked hopefully. But it was the much angry glare of Midou Ban that met his eyes.

"You hit me, Amano." The way Ban said the words made it sound like a threat, and Ginji shivered. "You're going to pay for that." Yeah. It was a threat alright.

Ban rose to his feet, still a little dizzy, and Ginji slowly followed. Then Ban attacked. Nothing fatal, not even meaning to make Ginji unconscious but fast enough to be impossible for Ginji to block or dodge, and painful enough to make him growl and fall back to the ground. 

Ban stood above Ginji. He remembered what Toriyoshi-sama had told him; that's why he had held back his punch. He was not going to kill Amano, not until he knew who had taken the Sacrificer.

"That's enough for now, Amano," he said. "But don't ever do that again, or you'll live long enough to regret it."

Ginji was crumpled on the ground, his hands to his stomach, grasping to find his breath. It took him a couple of minutes before his breathing was fairly back to normal and he could sit up. 

In the mean time Ban had put his hands in his pockets and found a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Without thinking he took one by reflex, lit it and inhaled its smoke. Strange, he couldn't remember he had smoked before, but it was a very familiar sensation he experienced as he filled his lungs with smoke. It made him relax a little. So the kid had made a huge mistake by hitting him, but Ban could be forgiving. If he wasn't, the kid would probably not tell him anything and that would not please Toriyoshi-sama. Ban gave Ginji a little gentler look.

"Get up," he said without edge in his voice. "You wanted to take me to the forest. We're here. Now what?" 

Ginji looked uncertainly at Ban. He wasn't going to hit him again? Ginji blamed himself for not being prepared for an attack from Ban. Even though Ban had already hit him once before this, in the cellar, he had somehow believed that Ban wouldn't do that. He had only been prepared for an attack from someone else. But why lure him to the forest to attack him when they could have taken him much easier in the mansion, if they had cared he was there. Ginji didn't understand anything at all.

"I said, now what?" Ban asked again. "What's your plan?"

Ginji wasn't used to make plans; it had always been Ban who led and Ginji who followed. He had gotten Ban out of the house now. Somehow Ginji had hoped the spell was connected to the building and would be broken as soon as they got out. But obviously that was not the case. Ban's eyes were as cold as they'd been inside. That cold look made Ginji wriggle in discomfort. Was it that look Ban had been showing each and everyone before he met Ginji? In that case it was no wonder other people saw Ban as an unfeeling, insensitive bastard.

What was he supposed to do now? Maybe they should make their way to the Ladybug. Ginji could hardly convince Ban to drive to their client to deliver the Seikon. If Ban was under the impression he was a servant to the Motohashis, he must have been told the Demuras was his enemies. Ginji could never get Ban to make that delivery.

They'd better find the Ladybug anyway. Ginji didn't know what else to do. Perhaps he could get Ban to drive back to Tokyo, and maybe he could find Maria. Yes, that's an idea. Maria would surely know what to do with Ban. Ginji felt a little more hopeful at the thought of the witch.

But were was the Ladybug? He knew it must be somewhere beside the road, but the road ran in a large bend and he and Ban had taken the straighter way through the forest. At least he knew the approximate direction. 

"We are going to our car," he explained to Ban and started walking around the mansion to come to the part of the forest they had been walking before. Ban shrugged and walked behind him.

Ginji found a path he thought went in the right direction and followed it. He didn't like the situation at all. What if Ban never snapped out of the spell? What if Ban attacked him again? He didn't know what Ban was thinking, why he was even following him. Walking with a brainwashed Ban under a spell wasn't his idea of a nice walk in the forest. Still, the guy walking behind him was his Ban-chan and Ginji tried to believe that somewhere deep inside him there was something left that Ginji could reach.

Thoughts were rushing through his mind. This Ban scared him. He was more snake-like than Ginji had ever seen him. Cold, arrogant, and not a single glint of the warmth his eyes usually contained at the times he looked at Ginji.

For about half an hour they walked in silence. Then Ban decided it was time to find out if Amano knew anything about the thief.

"That other thief, he who took the Sacrificer, do you know him?" he asked.

Ginji looked at him uncertainly. Why did he want to know that? But all Ginji cared for was to get Ban-chan back and maybe, just maybe, the mentioning of their mutual friend - well, acquaintance - could make Ban get his memory back.

"Shido? Yes, I know him," he said and added, "so do you." 

"I do?" This was great, Ban thought. Amano knew the guy and seemed willing to talk about him. This way Ban could get the information he wanted and then he just had to kill the kid, take back the Seikon and head back to Toriyoshi-sama. Ban was most satisfied at the thought of how pleased his mistress would be with him.

"Yeah, don't you remember him? A guy who can talk to the animals? You always call him Monkey Trainer and he calls you Snake Bastard." Ginji was eager to tell Ban anything that could help his friend to regain his memory.

Ban frowned. He had no idea what the kid talked about. Monkey Trainer? Snake Bastard? The only explanation Ban could think about was that Amano mistook him for someone else. But if he played along he would probably get all the information he needed.

"I think I recognize that," he lied. "Tell me more."

And Ginji very happy started a long monologue about how Ban had met Shido the first time, where Shido lived, missions they had been on together and so on.

"Do you remember, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked anxiously. Had all this talk helped Ban remember something?

This time Ban held back his anger as Ginji called him Ban-chan. He didn't want to spoil this source of information until it was empty. "It seems familiar." Once again he lied. Of course he couldn't remember something that had never happened. "Is there anything more you can tell me?"

Ginji shook his head. "No, nothing I can think of right now anyway." He looked at Ban. His partner didn't look like he remembered anything. He still had that cold look in his eyes, and as Ginji gave the answer, he caught a dangerous glint in them too, which made Ginji feel very uneasy. Had he said too much?

So this was it, Ban thought. The information source had gone dry, but he had got all he needed. Time to end this charade.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

****

Warning! This chapter contains spoilers to the Kami no Kijutsu arc in the manga.

Thanks to reviewers:

Ai-chan3: Really hope you're okay after the explosion ^_^

stitcher2ficcer: Heheh, well, at least this chapter doens't leave you hanging at such a nasty place. (And in next chapter Shido will be back.)

Naye: I'm glad you didn't think I underestimated Ginji, because i really try not to do that. Ginji isn't irresponsible or stupid. He just had too much responsibility as Raitei that he now is happy to let Ban lead unless he _has to_ take responsiblity himself.

X-parrot: Me evil? And of course you never end your chapters like this, no, no.

Britannica Moore: Thank you. Hope you like this chapter too.

dsL0cAtEd.BodY.pArT: Heh, cool name. No, of course I wouldn't let Ban sleep with the girl. But I wonder how Ginji would have reacted if he had found them toghether in bed? ^_~ (As I said before, I just write down what happens, don't blame me for what the characters are doing.)

Witch Hunt

Chapter five

Ban looked Ginji straight in his eyes and prepared to strike. But the look in the boy's eyes made him hesitate. His eyes were so big, anxious and at the same time trusting. Trust? Was it really trust he saw? Why would that puppy-eyed kid trust him? If he was, it was only for the worse for him. The easier the kill would be. Again he concentrated for the final blow, and again Ginji's eyes disturbed him. Ban swore to himself. Why did he hesitate? He had promised Toriyoshi-sama he would kill Amano so why didn't he? Ban had no fear he wouldn't have the skill or wasn't strong enough. Killing the kid was a simple thing. Still something held him back. 

Ban tried to think. Was there a reason for him not to kill this guy yet? Maybe his subconscious knew something he didn't? Like Amano would tell him something more, or show him something? Maybe even meet that Shido-guy. Yeah, that must be it. There must be something more he was supposed to find out. It was for the best if he waited to kill Amano until later.

Ginji was standing beside Ban wondering about his friend. Even for being under a spell he looked so strange. For a moment the ice in his eyes left him, then it was back. It disappeared again, and came back. It seemed to Ginji as Ban was struggling with something inside him. Maybe his memory was on the edge of returning?

"Ban-chan," he said, hesitating.

"Call me Midou-san!" Once again his jaw was hit by Ban's fist. 

This time Ginji didn't fall, though, he only staggered a few steps backwards. No, Ban-chan wasn't back, but the expression he had caught in Ban's eyes the moment he was hit; it must have been frustration. Ginji wished he knew why Ban was frustrated. Was there something inside his partner trying to remember things, or was he just pissed off because Ginji didn't call him Midou-san? 

Ban was angry. He wished he could kill this brat immediately, but he was sure there must be a good reason for why he couldn't. Shit, but the kill would have to wait until he found out everything.

"Are you taking me to the car, or not?" he asked irritably. Amano had talked about a car. There was a chance that the answers were there at the car.

"Yeah… yeah." Ginji turned his eyes away from Ban. He could hardly stand it anymore. 

They began their walk again. Ginji was trying to calm himself by telling him he would get Ban-chan back as soon as he could get him to Maria. It actually helped some. Ginji felt his muscles relax and he started to feel a little less anxious for the first time in a long while. As soon as they found the car he would convince Ban to drive to Maria and everything would be fine. Wherever the car was... 

Ginji was getting more and more uncertain. Trying to find his way through the forest was probably a _very_ bad idea. He should at least have followed the road even if not _on_ the road. If he must be honest to himself he thought this _might_ be the wrong way. Might? Yes, that was honest, he thought sarcastically. He was lost, that's the truth. It was most definitely the wrong way. He didn't even know in which direction the road was.

"Where is that damned car?" asked Ban. He was getting more and more annoyed. Not to mention frustrated. Inside him two sides fought; one said 'kill the worthless brat now, that was your order', the other said 'wait until you're sure'. If he only knew why he wasn't sure already.

"Oh, just a little further," Ginji assured Ban, answering his question. He must find it quickly now, or maybe Ban would leave him out here, or even beat him up for getting them lost. This Ban wasn't one he could trust. To tell the truth he couldn't really imaging Ban really hurting him; but he knew he _shouldn't_ trust him. _Ban-chan, come back. I need you._ He wondered if Ban still could use the snakebite, or the Jagan for that matter, or if he had forgotten those abilities. The attacks he had used before on him had been regular attacks even if they had been very fast and strong.

They reached a small lake. Ginji knew for sure he hadn't seen it before. With a sigh he walked out on a small cliff, looking out over the water, wondering what he should do now.

"You're lost, aren't you?" Ban smirked. "As I presumed, you're worthless."

Ban's words hurt. Ginji knew Ban said them because of the spell, but what if this was his real feelings and the spell only made him express what he wouldn't say otherwise? Maybe Ban really thought he was useless? No - sure he had a bad sense of direction, but Ban-chan had showed his trust in him in a number of times. He mustn't let his uncertainty take a hold on him. 

If he could find a way to break the spell on Ban right now, then Ban could tell him the way to the Ladybug. Maybe if Ban became very, very angry? If he was prepared for it, it was possible he could overpower Ban. Or maybe if… 

"So I'm the useless one, am I?" Ginji said. "You're the one sitting in the room in the cellar doing nothing while I completed what I was supposed to do." A little cryptically, but the truth without saying too much. "What have you done for anyone? Nothing, but I do what I have said I would do. You're worthless, not me."

While Ginji was talking Ban slowly approached him with a dangerous look. That was what Ginji had hoped for and he carefully put himself in position. He tried to look calm and pretended he didn't notice that Ban's anger was rising. This wouldn't have fooled Ban-chan, but apparently Midou-san wasn't aware of Ginji's manipulation.

"You say I'm lost." Ginji continued to infuriate Ban. "Well, I'm not. This lake was my real goal. Our boss told me to get you here first." Ginji didn't know where he got all these lies, but suddenly he could come up with a lot of stuff that maybe, at least in his own ears, even sounded believable. He hoped it would raise Ban's anger enough. "That's right. _Our_ boss. I wasn't supposed to tell you because you are not trusted. _You_ are a brain-washed doll, worthless, useless and not needed!" 

At this, Ban, the anger taking the better out of him, thrusted himself at Ginji. Ginji, very much expecting the attack, got a grip on Ban's arm, managed to avoid getting caught by him, and at the same time turned around and in one floating motion send Ban flying into the water.

__

Please, let this make Ban-chan snap out of it. Please, pretty please…

Ginji watched as Ban slowly raised from the water, lifting his eyes to look at Ginji. His eyes were filled with rage... and hatred.

"Bloody bastard. I'll make you regret this." Ban spat as he ascended from the lake, dripping wet. "You'll cry for mercy before I'm done, and then we'll see who's the worthless one, babyface!"

Again Ban lounged himself at Ginji. This time it was a more planned attack, and he landed on top of him. As he fell, Ginji immediately realized that this time Ban used another fighting strategy. A strategy that wasn't like him at all. Except for when they did it for fun. This fight was more wrestling than punches, but Ban was incredibly strong and Ginji had to fight hard to be able to defend himself at the same time as he tried to figure out a new plan. _If_ he could defeat Ban that was.

Ginji's mind was working hard as he wrenched himself free from Ban's left arm, which was trying to bend his right arm behind his back. Should he charge his electricity on Ban? At the moment it was a little difficult to concentrate enough to do that, but maybe later, if he had the chance. He managed to come lose from Ban's attempt to strangle him before Ban had got a good grip. Breaking a spell, breaking a spell...

Ginji panted, it was hard to wrestle a furious Ban and at the same time try to think. He also knew from their playful wrestling games that in this kind of fighting Ban had much better techniques than him, and it seemed like he was about to remember them as the fight continued. If he didn't defeat Ban very soon, Ginji knew he wasn't going to. 

Something suddenly appeared in his mind. When they were involved in the Kami no Kijutsu incident, Toshiki had been awakened by Ban with a kiss. The circumstances wasn't at all the same, but maybe it would work this time anyway. In the fairytales the princess could be released from the spell with a kiss too. It wasn't much but it was worth a try.

Their wrestling made them roll over and over, and the next time Ginji found himself on top of Ban, his desperation for trying this new idea made him get a good strong grip on Ban's wrists, pinning him to the ground. He looked down at Ban's infuriated face. Knowing he didn't have much time before Ban would break free he bent over and touched Ban's lips with his own. First it was a very slight brush of lips against lips, but when he felt Ban tense under him he deepened the kiss, before it was too late. 

Ban didn't move; his eyes showed shock, but he didn't move. Instead, he closed his eyes after a little while; the tension in his body disappeared and he responded to Ginji's kiss. 

When he opened his eyes again he looked straight into Ginji's eyes, smiling gently.

"I love when you wake me up like that, Ginji."

Ginji's relief was so great he almost choked. "Ban-chan! You're back!" He let go of Ban's wrists. 

Ban looked confused, and took his eyes from Ginji to look at the surroundings. "Oi, what happened? Dammit, where are we?"

"You don't remember, Ban-chan?" He got off Ban and sat down beside him.

Ban tried to think, still lying on the ground. "We were supposed to retrieve this Seikon, right? Wait, a minute, you were going to lure all the guards to catch you and I... Damn, what happened next? I was waiting in the room, and then... this old woman was behind me, and... she..."

If Ban hadn't already been lying down he would have sunk to the ground, as everything that had happened came back to him. He remembered clearly everything he had said and done since that witch had caught him. Toriyoshi-sama's loyal servant… he felt sick. 

"Hell, what did she do to me?" Ban rose; infuriated with himself he punched a treetrunk with his fist, making a crack in the quite big tree. He lent his head against the tree collecting his thoughts. Breathing heavily he then turned to look at Ginji. He had been ordered to kill his best friend and he had wanted to do it. That was the worst part of it; he could remember how he had been filled with joy at the prospect of killing Ginji! How could he ever make it up to him?

"Ginji…" There was hesitation in Ban's voice. Apologizing wasn't easy for him, and an apology was still much too little, compared to how he felt. But what he would say or do instead he didn't know. He stuck to: "I'm sorry, Ginji." 

Ginji's smile was as bright as a summer's day. "It's okay, Ban-chan. You weren't quite yourself. I'm just so happy you're back."

Ban knew Ginji never would blame him for this. He wasn't sure he could forgive himself, though. That witch… His anger was rising again at the thought of the one who had done this to him and his partner. If he had her here at this moment he would gladly do to her what she had ordered him to do to Ginji.

He made an effort to calm himself. "At least you got me out of there." Dammit, he wasn't supposed to make these kinds of mistakes. Shit, shit, shit.

"What about the Seikon, Ginji? You still have it, don't you?"

Ginji beamed as he presented the box from his pocket. "Look Ban-chan, I took it from the safe, before I searched for you. I reckoned you wanted me to get it first."

"Damned true, I did. We're professionals - the GetBackers, with one hundred percent success rate, right? It wouldn't do if we couldn't retrieve one simple little ball." He smiled at his partner, sure of that Ginji would understand that this was his way of telling Ginji he was grateful, and relieved he didn't have to go back to the Motohashis' house again.

Ginji handed the box over to Ban. "Here, have a look."

Ban took it and was overwhelmed with a repulsive feeling. Instead of opening it he quickly handed it back to Ginji.

"Shit," he spat. "What the hell is that damned thing! Don't you feel anything, when you touch this?" 

Ginji frowned. "Well yeah, I guess I do. What do you feel?"

Ban glared at the box, looking disgusted. "I'm not sure, but there is something really bad about that box, or rather what's in it. Have you opened it?"

"Sure. It's the Seikon, alright." He opened the box. "Look."

"No!" Ban said more fiercely than intended. "Actually, I don't want to come near that thing. Close the damned box!"

Ginji immediately closed the lid and hatched it. "Is that why you didn't open the box yourself?"

Ban looked at the box in Ginji's hands.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't even wanna look at it, it feels sort of... evil. What is it you feel?"

Ginji gave it some thought. "It's more like a warning of danger. Not so much that I can't look at it. But it makes me wonder what our clients are going to do with this ball."

Ban nodded. "And whatever they're going to do with it, they're gonna do it together with a knife called the 'Sacrificer'."

"Ban-chan, are you sure we have to hand over this Seikon to our client?"

"We must. That's what retrieval specialists do. We can't see the whole picture if we don't have all the pieces of the puzzle, remember?" But things Toriyoshi had said came back to him as he talked.

"Ginji, there might be human sacrifices involved. I think we should hang around after we've done the delivery to see what's happening."

"Human sacrifices!" Ban could see Ginji was most upset. "No, they can't! Why do you think they will sacrifice humans?"

Ban told him what he have heard. "The Motohashis are going to carry out a ritual in ten years, and to that ritual they want the guy who took the Sacrificer, that is the Monkey Trainer, to sacrifice him."

"Shido!" Ginji gasped. They're going to sacrifice Shido?"

"Yeah," Ban admitted. "But not yet. In ten years, they said. We'll have plenty of time to warn him. Don't worry, if the Monkey Trainer knows about it he can take care of himself."

"Yeah, I guess." Ginji knew Ban had a point but couldn't help still looking worried. 

Ban left the subject and continued. "We already know that the Demuras are going to hold a ritual very soon. It's possible they'll sacrifice human beings too." 

"Alright," Ginji nodded seriously. "We'll stay and find out what they're going to do. They can't get away with murdering people."

Silently he put the box back in his pocket. Ban decided to ease up the mood a little.

"So, Ginji. You took the lead, got lost, threw me in the lake and finally kissed me. Good job," he said teasingly. "But the next time, I'll be on top."

Ginji blushed a little.

Ban laughed. "Come on. I'll lead you to the Ladybug. You weren't that wrong, I say we're only about half a kilometer from where we parked it."

Together they headed for the car. Ginji was very upbeat. His plan had worked, the kiss had got him Ban-chan back, and he was more than happy to let Ban lead again. But Ban looked so serious and was very quiet. Ginji frowned.

"Ban-chan?" Ginji wanted to break Ban's mood. Even if he preferred this to the spellbound Ban, he still wanted to talk to him. It wasn't good if Ban started to brood too much on what had happened. Better that they talked about it and got it out. "Do you remember anything of what Toriyoshi said to you when she had put the spell on you?"

Ban looked up but didn't say anything and Ginji wasn't sure he was going to answer at all. He didn't want to push his friend, though, so he just gave him an encouraging smile to let him know it was alright to talk about it.

It took them about ten minutes to reach the Subaru and Ban had still not said a word. This worried Ginji a little but just as he had decided to start talking himself, Ban broke the silence. 

"I remember everything." he said in a low voice, standing outside the car. Apparently he saw that this tone of voice worried Ginji because he immediately let his face show the smile Ginji loved most. "Is there anything in particular you wanna know?"

"Yeah." There was especially one thing Ginji had to know. "Why didn't anybody care that I was back in the house to get you? I mean the door wasn't locked, there were no guards and still they must have understood that I was coming back for you, or at least they should have made some precautions _if_ I was coming back."

Ban found he couldn't meet Ginji's eyes. In that seemingly simple question lay the revelation to things he'd rather never talk about. But for Ginji's sake he had to answer the question, and not briefly but with details and giving answers to all following questions too. He owed Ginji that much. He kept his voice as normal as possible; Ginji had the right to know but Ban wasn't going to break down in front of his partner.

"They didn't care because the witch had told me to follow you if you showed up. She wanted me to find out if you knew anything about the guy who took the Sacrificer. In case you didn't want to tell me I should have brought you back to her." Ban silenced. This was the hardest part. He took a deep breath and forced himself to look into Ginji's eyes. "When you had told me everything you knew I was ordered to kill you. And I was going to do it."

Ginji looked back, giving him a gentle smile. "No, you weren't, Ban-chan"

Ban was surprised. "Yes I was. I'm very glad I didn't, but I was going to kill you."

"Then why didn't you?"

"Because maybe you were going to tell me something more." Now when he said it, it didn't sound very believable, though. He had been ready to do the killing and the reason why he didn't was only excuses. But why had he made these excuses?

Ginji looked as he knew exactly what Ban was thinking, and Ban was pretty sure he interpreted that look correct. Ginji had the ability to know the way he was thinking better than Ban knew himself.

"I wasn't going to tell you anything more, and I had told you so." Ginji eyes shone like the sun as he teased Ban with a big, happy smile: "Sometimes you're the stupid one, Ban-chan. Deep inside you knew it was me you were trying to kill, not even the spell could make you do it." There was a certainty in his voice that Ban envied him. How come his partner had that everlasting trust? Ban knew he wouldn't have trusted himself if he had been in the same position as Ginji had been.

Ban tried to look unaffected, but he doubted it fooled his partner. "Well, anyway, as I said, I'm glad I didn't." 

And the small tremble in Ginji's quick reply made Ban really see how much he had been missed by his friend. "And I'm glad you're back, Ban-chan."

Their eyes met again and Ban knew that as far as Ginji concerned, everything was alright and that everything Ban had said and done while under the spell had been forgiven the moment he was back to normal.

Ban took out his keys; luckily no one had thought of taking any of his belongings away from him. Toriyoshi probably never thought that would be necessary. He opened the doors to the small car and they seated themselves. Ginji immediately reached for the map, unfolded it, and made an effort to understand it.

"We're here." He pointed at a spot on the map. "And the client lives here." He pointed at another spot, looking happy he had found it. "It's much shorter through the woods this time too, Ban-chan."

"Yeah. But I don't want to walk all the way back after we've delivered the box."

"No, me neither. But the road goes back quite a long way before it turns back to our client's home."

"Um. I know, I know. But I'm still going by car. Are you coming or are you going for a walk? I can pick you up after I delivered the ball and received the money." He looked disgusted at the box. That might be a bad idea. Ban could hardly look at the small box, much less hold it. Fortunately Ginji didn't want to take a lonely walk through the forest.

"Ban-chan... Now you're being stupid again. Of course I'll go with you, in the car."

Ban held back a smile. It wasn't often his friend called him stupid, and now twice in just a short period of time. 

"Let's go then." He started the engine and drove out from the forest back to the road. 

"Ginji…," there was one more thing he needed to say before he would try to forget this whole thing. 

"What, Ban-chan?" Ginji sounded so satisfied. Maybe he shouldn't say anything after all? Yes, he needed to say it. He knew this must have hurt Ginji the most of all. 

"Next time I tell you to call me Midou-san; just hit me hard on the head and drag me off, will you?"

Ginji laughed. "Isn't it better I kiss you right away, Ban-chan?"

It was Ban's turn to blush.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

stitcher2ficcer: You like pain, heh? If you wait till chapter seven you'll see more of it.

Naye: Yeah, I like sweet BanGin fluff too. (Pain and kisses, what kind of person am I?)

TaoStrife: I'm glad that I might have made you think differently of Ginji. He's worth all respect.

cmquietone: The Seikon contains evil powers and Ban can feel that through the box.

Ai-chan3: Ban-chan=princess. Can you imagine Ban in a pretty dress and with curly hair? *lol*  If I did that to Ban I would be in more danger than Ginji ever was. ^_^

Kinneas: I'm very glad you still like it.

X-parrot: To answer your question: I really don't know. I actually tried to change that line but Ban wouldn't let me, so I guess that's what he really said. If it only was the words of a very confused, newly awakened Ban (finding his dreams come true?), or if it's Ginji's usual way to say good morning to Ban, well… They never told me that ^_^ 

**Witch Hunt**

**Chapter six**

Shido was enjoying the walk through the forest. He had successfully retrieved the knife, and was now on his way to the house where he had been requested to leave it to the client. The night air felt so good against his face and he could sense all the nocturnal animals around him, greeting him as a friend. He started to run, even though he was in no hurry, only because it made him feel alive. 

After the joyful run, which took him even further away from his destination, Shido sat down for some contemplation. Amazing how easy this had been. He smirked a little at the thought of Midou's complaints of how dangerous jobs the GetBackers always received by Hevn. This one hadn't been dangerous at all, and if only that snake bastard had been on time, the job had been his - and Ginji's of course.

But as it was, Shido had gotten the job. He had taken the bus to the little town nearby, and from the bus stop he had been walking. It didn't slow him down much. Madoka had offered him to borrow a car, but he didn't want to impose on her more than he felt he already did. Besides, even if he knew how to drive a car, he wasn't comfortable with it. Midou drove with the same ease as he walked, but Shido much preferred to use his own two feet. And the way the roads windled in this area, he didn't lose as much time as one would think by walking the short cuts through the forest, instead of taking the longer way by the road.

This retrieval had really been an easy one. He had arrived at the house where his clients had told him the knife was kept, after about 45 minutes. And by using his power to see in the dark like a cat, he had not had any problems getting there.

The house had been surrounded by a fence, and in the yard between the fence and the house there had been five dogs guarding the house. Shido almost laughed at the thought; as if dogs could cause any trouble to him. After a quick examination the dogs had surrendered to him and greeted him as their leader. Not even the real leader of the pack had had any objections. Shido shook his head in disbelief. It was clear to him that most people had no idea how to choose dogs suitable to be good leaders.

Obviously the inhabitants of the house had trusted the watchdogs completely. There had been no guards inside and no alarm system. There had been a couple of men awake, but they didn't notice him until he left the house. He had been a little incautious then. It had been so easy to find the safe and even find the key in one of the desk drawers that Shido almost felt disgusted. How could people be so careless? The watchdogs indicated they had something worth of guarding, why then don't go all the way and keep the house and their belongings totally secured?

The ease of getting his hands on the knife was what made him a little careless. Not that it mattered much. All that had happened was that he was lost in thoughts as the men entered the office room where he was standing with the knife in his hand. They had been even more surprised than he, so he made a quick sortie out of the window and disappeared into the forest before the men had moved from their spot.

And now he was on his way to his client to hand over the retrieval. The walk between the two mansions was quite a bit longer than the one between the bus stop and the Motohashis, but it was still a pleasant walk. Shido rose; it was time to resume the walk to make the delivery.

A little more than an hour and a half later, he reached the mansion that was his goal. This house was surrounded by a fence too, but this time he could sense there were no dogs. Close to where he had come out of the forest was a small gate in the fence with a path leading from the house, continuing into the forest. Shido tried the gate - it wasn't locked; he stepped through and walked up to the main doors of the mansion.

He rang the bell at the door. After a few seconds a man opened it.

"Yes?"

"My name is Fuyuki Shido. I'm looking for Demura Keiko-san."

"Oh, you are the retrieval specialist. This way, please."

Shido followed the man to a room with some comfortable chairs and other expensive looking pieces of furniture.

"Please, wait here for a few minutes." The man gestured to the chairs and Shido sat down.

He didn't have to wait long before the woman he had been talking to at the Honky Tonk came in with a cold smile on her lips.

"Welcome, Fuyuki-san. I trust you have retrieved the knife?"

Shido took up the knife in its sheath, and handed it to her. She drew it and examined it closely.

"Yes. This is the right one. Thank you, Fuyuki-san. Here is your payment."

She pulled out an envelope from the handbag she had brought. Shido took it and put it in his pocket without looking at its contents. He had no reason to believe he wouldn't get what was agreed.

The woman dismissed him, and the same man who had showed him into the house now followed him back to the doors.

Outside, the sun had started to rise above the horizon. The night's chill was still in the air, but it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. Shido took the same path he had come from, but before he reached the gate he heard an engine and stopped to look back at the main entrance. A car was driving up the entrance road and he recognized it. The Ladybug. What the hell were the GetBackers doing here? Did they have a job here too? He found he hoped they did. Not that he cared whether Midou got a job or not, but sometimes he felt just a little guilty for Ginji's sake. He shrugged; he couldn't help if those two didn't show up in time.

The Beastmaster reached the smaller gate and decided to follow the path leading from it in another direction than he came from earlier. He didn't have to hurry, and apart from the walking he had done this night, it had been quite a while since he could spend some time in a forest. The pleasure of being in this environment made him feel so good. He found himself standing under a big tree that seemed very inviting to his eyes. He climbed it; sitting on a branch he sensed the living forest surrounding him. It felt wonderful. He decided to stay for a while and get some sleep.

When he woke up again, several hours had passed. It was much warmer now, and sunbeams shining through the tree leaves tickled his skin and that's what woke him up. That, and a little bird hopping at his shoulder picking affectionately at his ear, very eager to tell him some new gossip from the nests. Shido listened gravely to the little bird for a while and then, when the bird was finished and had found something more interesting, he lithely jumped down to the ground and started to follow the path again. 

Weird. As he proceeded he felt he came closer to something... wrong. The bird had, besides the gossip, told him there was a place in front of him she didn't like, and he got the feeling confirmed from other animals as well. They didn't shun it completely, but it was like they all had racial memories of evil things that once happened here. 

Shido saw someone in front of him, and quickly hid himself. It was an old woman, standing in a quite big clearing. It was this clearing the animals didn't like. To the left was a small pond and in a triangle with about 10 meter sides stood three wooden constructions. The two at the far side from Shido looked like tables built on the spot but the one closest to him was something that looked like a sturdy gate. Its sides were decorated with carved symbols, and Shido thought it must have taken quite some time to create this gate.

The old woman was sitting in front of it, chanting quietly, but Shido couldn't make out any words. He heard steps approaching from the path and a man walked up to the woman, respectfully kneeled, and patiently waited until she had finished her chanting.

"Shigeru," the old woman greeted the man. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Demura-sama. The preparations for the first step are almost done. We can carry out the ritual as planned this evening."

"Very good." Demura looked pleased. "We are already overdue with four years. It took a long time to find the twins this circle. The ritual has to be repeated with no more than 105 years interval. The optional interval is exactly 100 years, but since this circle's twins are the strongest I've ever seen, it will be more than enough to make up for the four extra years of waiting."

The man named Shigeru nodded in acknowledge of her words. "Yes, the coming circle we will prosper most satisfactory due to their strength." He rose. "We can go back to carry out the first step as soon as you are ready, Demura-sama."

"I am finished here. Let us go back." Demura let Shigeru help her rise and they left the clearing together. Shido watched them go. Some people were so creepy. Whatever were they going to do? Well, it was none of his business. Maybe they would all get naked and dance in the moonlight singing songs to some god or demon or whatever. Shido smirked. Human beings could have strange customs, that's for sure.

He felt an urge to stay and see what would happen, but pushed it down. It was time to go home now. Shido started the walk to the bus stop. Something was still nagging him, but he couldn't really get a grip of it. 

When he sat on the bus on his way back to Tokyo, he tried to collect his thoughts and make something out of what he had heard. Why did this bother him so much? Some kind of ceremony, the knife, 'they are being prepared now'. What the hell did that mean? Were they going to do some sort of sacrifice? Human sacrifices? Shido didn't like the conclusion he came up with; he had to return tonight. 

A little more than three hours later as the bus reached Tokyo, Shido had decided to go see Kazuki. The informer had knowledge about the most curious things. He might know something about this family, or if not, he probably had the means to get information about them. Shido changed buses and went straight to Kazuki's apartment, hoping he would be home.

He was in luck. Ringing the doorbell, he immediately heard Kazuki's light footsteps from the other side of the door.

"Shido. It's been a while. Come in," Kazuki offered.

Shido went inside and at Kazuki's invitation he sat down on the slender man's couch.

"Would you like something to drink?" Kazuki asked.

"No, thanks." Shido was a little embarrassed, he hadn't been visiting his friend in such a long time, and when he did it was only to ask for a favor.  "I came to ask you something."

"Oh?" Kazuki had seated himself in an armchair opposite the couch. "Go ahead. I'll answer if I can."

"Have you ever heard of a clan named Demura? They live about three hours away to the west, and maybe they have something to do with... magic? I overheard them talking and they were mentioning some ritual they will carry out tonight."

Kazuki nodded. "Yes, I've heard of them. It's a very old family." He frowned. "You say they are going to make a ceremony tonight? That's bad news. I thought, or rather hoped, they didn't do such things anymore."

"What, Kazuki? What are they going to do?" Shido didn't want his suspicions confirmed.

"From what I've heard, they are a family with witch blood in their veins. Every one hundred years they sacrifice two people, called 'the twins', and drink their blood and eat their flesh. That sacrifice will make the members of the clan live on for another one hundred years. Some of those members living now are supposed to be the same as one thousand years ago."

"That's not possible!" Shido gasped.

Kazuki shrugged. "That's what I've heard anyway."

"They talked about the 'twins'." Shido recalled. "Are they really going to eat other human beings? It's not just some kind of metaphor, you know like in Christian ceremonies when they drink wine and say it's blood?"

"No, the 'twins' are real people. They are called 'the twins of light and darkness', and are supposed to be powerful people. The dark twin must have witch blood, and the light one must be pure of heart. "

Shido gave a start. "Ginji! Midou! They were there. I saw when they arrived!"

Kazuki looked alarmed. "Yes, they would fit the description of the 'twins'. You're sure it was them you saw?"

"It must have been them. I saw a car that unmistakably was Midou's Subaru, driving to Demuras' house." 

Shido rose from the couch and strode over to the small window, and then back again, looking furious. Dammit! He had known there was something wrong! Why hadn't he listened to himself! He should have stayed!

"I'm going back there immediately!" he declared. "Are you coming with me? Ginji might be needing us."

Kazuki shook his head, worried. "I wish I could, but tonight I have a meeting with a man who is going to inform me on a matter concerning the murder of my family. It was very difficult to arrange this meeting and it was the only available time he got."

"I understand, Kazuki. It's probably nothing. I guess I'm overreacting, but I'll go there anyway, just in case."

Kazuki wasn't at all convinced. He knew just as well as Shido, or maybe he understood it even better, that the threat to the GetBackers probably was a very real one. He was torn between his own needs and his loyalty to his former emperor.

Shido saw the agony in Kazuki's face and tried to sooth his friend. "Don't worry about it, Kazuki, I'll help him if he'll need it."

"And Midou-kun?" Kazuki asked, knowing Shido's feelings concerning Ginji's partner.

"What the hell, I'll help him too, even if he's never going to thank me for it. But if he needs it, I'll help him because of Ginji. I'll never understand why, but he really likes that bastard."

Kazuki nodded. "Yes, they have a very special relationship." He smiled. "But on the other hand, Midou-kun is probably saying the same thing about you as you do about him."

"Probably." Shido agreed with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm going back there as soon as possible. Can I borrow your phone, Kazuki? I want to call Madoka."

"Sure, Shido," Kazuki nodded towards the telephone standing on a small table near the door. "And then I'll treat you to something to eat, because you've probably not eaten all day and it would take too long for you to go back to Madoka's to eat."

Shido was somewhat amused of Kazuki acting like a worried mother, but he was used to it since their days in Volts. As kings of the gang they had always watched out for each other in all ways, be it in fighting, taking care of wounds or things like seeing to that everybody had their share of food. And since he had enough time before he had to leave for the bus, and Kazuki wouldn't let him go before he had eaten, Shido accepted the invitation. Maybe it also had something to do with the fact that his stomach at that moment made a growling sound. 

Kazuki made himself busy in the kitchen. "I'm sorry I can't come with you, Shido."

"Leave it, Kazuki," Shido said as he helped his former fellow king to lay the table. "You provide the food for me, and I'll help Ginji. And the Snake bastard," he added quickly at Kazuki's glance.

"Alright then," Kazuki said calmly. But Shido, knowing the young man so well, could see how frustrated he was. "You do what's needed."

"Of course," was Shido's reassuring answer.

---

The GetBackers drove through the gates of the Demura mansion as the first rays of the  morning sun was seen. Ban parked the little car in the front yard without caring if it was a proper place to park a car. He and Ginji stepped up the stairs leading to the front doors and rang the bell. In a few seconds the door was opened by a man.

"Yes?"

"We want to talk to Demura Shigeru," Ban said without any introduction. He still felt a little disoriented by his earlier experience this night. It was almost like he still could feel that evil aura he had sensed at the Motohashis'.

The man raised a brow. "Oh, is that so?" It looked like he was considering something, and then he invited them in with a gesture. "Follow me, please."

He took Ban and Ginji to the same room Shido had been waiting in earlier.

"Please, wait. I'll tell Shigeru-san you are here."

He left the room closing the door behind him.

"Ban-chan, I don't like this. There's something strange about this room." Ginji looked around with a worried expression.

"You're right. Let's get out of here." Ban could tell this was bad. Now he was sure about it. It wasn't only after-effects of earlier events; he could feel almost the same sensation as at the Motohashis' in this room. 

He went to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. Ban struggled not to show the panic he felt. Witches! Here too! He was just about to try to force the door open with his 200 kg's grip, when he suddenly felt nauseous and dizzy. Beside him, he saw Ginji falling to the floor. _This can't be happening. I can't be trapped, not again!_ Those were his last thoughts before everything went black.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Okay. Here we go. If you don't like blood, stop reading. You've been warned.

stitcher2ficcer: BIG trouble ahead. Not surprised, huh?

TaoStrife:  Glad you too liked Shido's appearance.

Ivy Adrena: Coming right up.

Shichi:  The ritual being ruined? Why's that? 0_0 

Hirame: You don't mind Ban getting eaten? No wonder you got hit by a shoe. ^_^

Ai-chan3:  Yeah let's hope he does. I can't really remember…

X-parrot:  Now what? Well, they got eaten, of course. Or not.^_^

Naye:  Sigh. I can't help it. And to tell the truth, this chapter…*sweatdrop* 

**Witch Hunt**

**Chapter seven**

The first thing he heard when he woke up was a monotonous chanting from several voices. Ban forced his eyes open, and still dizzy he saw Ginji hanging by his wrists, standing on his feet but the rope holding him high enough that he almost had to stay on tiptoes. He was naked and placed a couple of meters to the left of Ban. Ginji was awake and stared at Ban with a scared look that Ban wasn't used to see in his partner's eyes.

Ban had difficulties thinking straight but by the ache in his shoulders he could at least understand that he himself was hanging the same way Ginji did. And he could see the room was filled with people dressed in gray robes with hoods. It was they who made the chanting. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind but the action only increased the dizzyness.

One of the greyrobed beings was an elderly woman vaguely reminding him of Toriyoshi, but this time, Ban, in spite of his fuzzy mind, recognized the witch aura immediately. She took a step to face him, and with a gesture she silenced the chanting.

"Ah, you're awake now, dark one," she said. With a smile that made Ban's blood freeze, she turned to the people gathered in the room.

"It's time. Do every step properly but fast; we must hurry before the dark one regains his powers. And remember, don't let the Sacrificer and the Seikon come closer than three meters from each other or we will not be able to stop their powers from releasing the evil demon closed up inside the Seikon." 

A young girl stepped forward, bringing a big knife, the Sacrificer, in its sheath. She lifted it with both hands and bowing she offered it to the head of the Demura family.

The old woman took the knife, and while reciting words in an ancient language, she lifted it above her head and raised her eyes to it. When finished, she approached Ginji.

"Pure of heart, twin of light, give us your strength," she said. With the Sacrificer, she cut Ginji's right arm from the elbow to his shoulder. Ban twisted as he saw the knife cut his partner's flesh, but Ginji only tightened his lips a little.

"Pure of heart, twin of light, give us your strength," the others repeated, while a young man stepped forward with a wide wooden bowl.

Demura took the cup, turned to her family and bowed, stretching her arms with the bowl  towards them. From the bowl she picked up a small tube, and sticking it into the wound's end at Ginji's shoulder she started to gather his blood into the bowl.

Not until the bowl was one fifth filled she removed the tube. Giving the bowl to the young man who stood waiting, she took a small bottle from a child, opened it and rubbed some strongly smelling ointment to Ginji's wound. Obviously that hurt more than the cut, because Ginji gasped as the ointment penetrated the wound.

The action was repeated with Ginji's left arm, his right leg, his left leg and as the last cut, she made a cross on his chest. That made Ginji groan in pain, and Ban, still not able to focus, could feel the agony his friend suffered from the cuts. The last cut seemed deeper than the other ones and Ginji was pale as a ghost. Ban could see he was very weak from the anemia.

The bowl was now filled with Ginji's blood. Demura put it on a plate on a small table, while a woman safely removed the Sacrificer from the room. As she returned, yet another child brought Demura the box with the Seikon. As she opened the box, it was Ban's turn to groan in pain. The bare sight of the Seikon seemed to affect him. In spite of his own condition, Ginji cast a worried glance at Ban. That guy never seemed to worry enough for himself, always fussing over how Ban felt. 

Demura fastened the Seikon to a holder and put the ball in the blood filled bowl. Holding the Seikon in the handle of the holder, she moved to stand in front of Ban. 

"Blood of witches, twin of dark, give us your life," was the words she recited to Ban.

Chanting incomprehensible words she started to roll the Seikon all over Ban's body, leaving bloody prints from the symbols carved on the ball, on his skin. Those prints burned, and Ban could feel how his powers were drained from him. He fought as hard as he could not to scream, but when she rolled the Seikon on his back there wasn't anything he could do anymore. Ban screamed in pain.  

Demura dipped her fingers in the cup and began sprinkling the blood on the floor while walking in a circle around Ban and Ginji. All the others followed her, chanting again. Demura led the way out of the room and the two boys were alone.

"Ginji, you alright?" Ban asked in an attempt to sound as he himself never had been better. He couldn't fool Ginji, of course; under these circumstances who could he have fooled? Ginji was very weak; without the ropes around his wrists he wouldn't have been able to stand. He all but hanged in the ropes, his legs weren't much support, but he managed to lift his head to look at Ban. After all, it had been Ban who screamed.

"I'm fine, Ban-chan." That was the most obvious lie Ban had ever heard and he would have snorted if he hadn't thought that would take too much effort, but before he could respond in any way, Ginji continued in a weak voice. "Ban-chan, what happened? Who are these people? What are they going to do to us?" He whispered, "Is it us who are the human sacrifices?"

Ban knew that Ginji already had figured out the answer to that question, and was only asking in a vague hope he should be wrong. But of course he wasn't. Ban, remembering what he had heard from Toriyoshi suddenly understood it all. She had said he was a twin but he hadn't connected that with Ginji as the other twin. And now he knew the twins' role in this ritual. Still fighting to keep the burning pain from the symbols on his body from his voice, he made an effort to comfort Ginji.

"The old Demura woman is cousin to Toriyoshi," he told his partner. "They are both witches with some knowledge of how to use magic. Hell, I didn't know there were so many magic users still alive. And yes, you're right, they want to sacrifice us. But that's not gonna happen,  we'll be alright as long as we're together. Don't worry, Ginji, we'll make it. Now that we're alone, it's time to get out of here." The speech made him exhausted, it took almost all his strength just to keep his pain out of his voice. But for Ginji's sake he had to make these last two sentences come true.

Ginji smiled weakly. "How, Ban-chan? I'm sorry, but I don't have any strength to use my electric power and I'm sure you would already be loose if you could have broken free."

Damned that smart guy. He seemed so naïve it was easy to forget he could always read the situation. And he always knew other peoples emotions. Ban could never ever fool Ginji. But Ginji trusted him, and Ban would do anything not to fail him.

"I told you not to worry, idiot. I'll think of something." How, he had no idea at the moment, of course. His powers were gone; no Snake Bite, no Jagan and he could not summon Asclepios. As a matter of fact, Ban was probably weaker than any ordinary human right now.

His partner was quiet while Ban pondered. What the hell was he supposed to do? He had to rely on that something would come up. Hell, he wasn't going to stand here and let someone kill Ginji and himself.

Nothing had come up, though, when Demura and the others returned. Demura untied Ban's arms and on impulse he tried to catch her. If he could have her as his hostage the situation would be much brighter. Unfortunately Ban hadn't more strength than a five-year-old child,  and in spite of her age, Demura easily avoided his poor attack. Instead she caught his arms, and Shigeru stepped forward with a red robe he managed to put on Ban. Demura  then turned the brown haired GetBacker around and tied his arms again, this time on his back. 

She then turned to Ginji and untied him. When she did, Ginji fell to the floor, too weak to stand. Demura bent over him pouring something from a bottle into his mouth. This made Ginji splutter, but he also regained some of his strength and he was able to rise. Ginji got dressed in a red robe as well, and Demura tied his arms too behind his back and then tied Ban's rope together with the ones holding Ginji.

"Let's go," she demanded, and everybody slowly moved out from the room, out of the house, into the forest.

The procession proceeded with Demura in the lead, to the clearing Shido had discovered earlier. Behind her, two of her descendants were leading Ban and Ginji, covered with the long red robes, and after them all the other came, all of them carrying bundles of cloths.

The clearing had been prepared for the ritual. About ten meters from the gatelike construction stood two low tables, beside each other but also about ten meters apart, with ritual items standing on top of them. At the pond stood a metal bucket ornamented with symbols resembling the ones on the Seikon.

The boys were once again stripped and tied hanging from their wrists, this time back to back in the gate. The members of the Demura clan had put down their bundles, got undressed and then lined up in front of Shigeru and Demura who had gone straight to the pond. For each person Shigeru filled the bucket with water and poured it over the man or woman while Demura recited words not audible to Ban and Ginji. The cleaning ritual kept on until everyone had been rinsed by the water and put on the dry robes from the bundles they had been carrying.

The family, except for some of the elders, made a semi-circle on one side of the gate, leaving the side to the two tables open. The elders lit up fires and burned incense which spread a heavy scent in the air. With all the preparations done they too stepped back in to the semi-circle, watching Demura where she stood alone except for the GetBackers, in the middle of the clearing.

She started a recital again, but this time the words were clear and understandable.

 "We summon the power of Yami, our Master. We bring you our sacrifice, the twins of light and darkness. The pure of heart to give you strength, the blood of witches to give us life. The pure of heart to give us life, the blood of witches to give you strength. Together they make a whole, together their power bring a century of power to you. With this power, grant us our wish, give us another century of life. Let their lives be ours."

---

Shido was on the bus once again. He could feel in his butt the many, long hours of sitting he had been forced to do this day, and he shouldn't even have had anything to eat if it wasn't for Kazuki. He was glad Kazuki had let him shared his meal now; of course he could do without food for a couple of days, but he had to admit he felt better this way.

He wondered if this witch clan really was going to slaughter Ginji and Midou. If only that Snake Bastard hadn't lured Ginji away from Mugenjou… Shido shook his head, he was being unfair and he knew it. He had come to fully understand why Ginji left and he really didn't blame Midou anymore. But it was still hard to like that guy, and it was easy to blame him for all the trouble Ginji had to go through.

Anyway, Shido wasn't going to let anything happen to his former emperor and for that emperor's sake he wouldn't let anything happen to Midou either. 

The bus stopped at his destination and he stepped down on the road. Again he had some walking to do. It didn't bother him, but he was eager to reach the clearing - where he expected them to be - as soon as possible. He started to run, and reaching the forest he soon found the animal paths he had followed before. 

Something was different in the forest this time. The closer he came to the clearing the more quiet the animals became. He stopped to ask what was going on. It didn't take long before he was provided with the answer. A lot of people were gathered in the clearing and a sense of evil had made all the animals get away from it. 'Is my emperor there? And his friend?' Shido asked with a description of Ginji following the question. Some of the bravest crows were soon back with the answer. 'Yes. But he is very weak and so is his friend. Your emperor have the smell of close to death,' was what they told him.

Dammit. Shido started running again, even faster this time.

---

Demura took the Sacrificer and the bowl once again. This time the knife and bowl had been standing on the table to the left of her, at the side of the clearing opposite the semi-circle of people. She approached Ginji again, repeating the action of cutting and collecting the blood but this time she only cut his arms. 

Ginji was now very near collapse; he fought hard to stay conscious. He refused to give up hope even if he of course understood their chances were small. If they would have any chance to get away from this, both he and Ban had to stay awake. While Demura kneeled and whipped the blood in the bowl chanting something, Ginji gathered his strength and whispered to Ban. "Ban-chan, you awake?"

"Still here," came the answer. His voice was strained but clearly audible. A moment he hesitated. Then he said. "Ginji."

"Yes, Ban-chan." Ginji's voice was so full of tenderness Ban could hardly go on.

"I'm sorry, Ginji."

"What for, Ban-chan?" Ginji's voice was genuinely surprised. 

"I couldn't come up with anything."

Ginji answered so softly Ban almost didn't hear, but he did. "You have never done anything to me to be sorry for."

Ban wanted to respond but his throat seemed so thick. He tried to swallow. _Say it now, idiot, before it's too late._ Damn, it was difficult for him to express his feelings in words. Most people would never see any emotions at all except for anger and arrogance. But to Ginji he had at least been able to show what he felt even if couldn't tell him. He didn't have to say anything, Ginji knew and understood anyway. Only, this time he wanted to say it.

"Gin…"

And it was too late. Demura stood in front of him, grabbing him by his hair. She pulled his head backwards, making the back of his head lean on Ginji's shoulder and with the Sacrificer she cut his flesh behind his left ear and draw the knife all the way down to his waist. Where a proper blood vein was found she pushed a little harder and collected his blood in the bowl  together with Ginji's blood.

She let go of Ban's head and he slumped forward. He opened his mouth to finish what he wanted to say, but not a sound was heard. He couldn't even find his voice anymore.

---

When Ban's blood had filled up the bowl there seemed to be a pause in the ritual. The semi-circle broke up and people began strolling around a little, talking to each other. Old Demura stood by one of the tables, whipping the blood to hinder it from coagulating. It was at this moment Shido reached the clearing. Or rather, he should have if he hadn't found an invisible barrier, making it impossible to come closer than 10 meters to it.

If Shido had been an ordinary man this would have been a problem, but not now. His animal friends that were with him could move across the barrier without even noticing it was there. They didn't want to go near the clearing, but those who had followed him circled around him on both sides of the barrier. All Shido had to do to cross the invisible line was to use one of his beast imitations. As a lynx he entered the spell-surrounded area, alone, the animals did not want to follow any longer and Shido didn't want to force them. Quietly he climbed a tree and was looking down at the scene in the clearing.

Ginji and Midou were tied to the gate he had seen before, looking even worse than Shido had expected. About 40 men, women and children from the age of ten and older were sitting or walking in the clearing. Two girls in their lower teens were on their way to the tree Shido was sitting in. They sat down under the tree chatting like any teenage girls.

"This is so cool." One of them said. "I'm so glad our parents found the twins at last. I would really hate not being an immortal anymore. Think about dying when you're only 80 or so."

"We're not really immortals," her slightly older second cousin reminded her. "But when we age only like five years in one hundred years I guess we're almost immortals."

"Yeah." The younger one agreed. She hesitated a little. "You know what I think is the most scary thing with this ritual?"

"No, what?" The older girl looked surprised. "I didn't know you thought it was scary. You've never told me that."

Her cousin blushed slightely. "I was too little last time we did this, and it's not until obaasan  told us the twins were found and the ritual soon would be held that I really started to think about it. The thing that scares me the most is that the Seikon and the Sacrificer must be held apart. It frightens me a lot, thinking about the demon that can come loose if they come to close to each other."

"There's nothing to be afraid of." The older gave the younger a superior look. "If it wasn't for obaasan's spells, the demon would be free if they were brought closer to each other than 50 meters. Now they can come as close as three meters apart without risking that. And it's no problem to keep that distance. The settings for the ritual are made so that those two items never come closer than about eight or nine meters. That's more than enough safety, I think."

"I know you're right, but it still scares me. Obaasan has to renew this 'distance-spell' every five years just to keep it on the safe side. What if she hadn't done that, and if those stealing back our knife and ball had come back with them at the same time?"

"Stupid, in that case they should have delivered them at different houses of course. And obaasan had put another spell around the house last night. If they had come at the same time that spell would be enough to keep the demon locked up anyway. But it's a very difficult spell and it can only be maintained for about 24 hours. That's why we can't use that spell all the time. I helped obaasan while she cast the spell," the teen said with unmistaken pride.

"I'm glad it's you and not me that are to learn how to make all the spells that is needed for the ritual. I wouldn't want all that responsibility."

"I don't mind, I think it's exciting."

"Did you by the way hear that obaasan had a lot of troubles with these twins? I didn't really understood why."

"They are different from the twins from previous times. They said the light twin is more than just the light one. I think they meant he had some extra powers."

"Strange, I thought the light twin was only supposed to have a pure heart."

"I know, it's so weird. They say this one has even killed, but he still counts as pure hearted. And the dark one is a full-blooded witch."

"He can't be, only girls can be witches."

"You're so stupid, call him what you want but it's the strongest witch-blood we've ever had. Obaasan had to search for much stronger spells than she ever had used before, to bind him after the gas had made them unconscious. If she hadn't, he would have broken free before she could have painted the blood symbols on his body with the Seikon. Those symbols bind him better than any spell, you know, and you can't put them on him if he's not awake."

"I know. You don't have to tell me that!"

"I have to. I'll bet you don't even remember what we are going to do with them."

"Of course I remember. They are going to cut the light one to pieces and burn the dark one alive, and then we eat their flesh and may live for another one hundred years," the young girl said triumphantly.

Shido felt like he was going to be sick. Kazuki had been right. Not that he had doubted it; Kazuki's information was usually correct. He remembered his thoughts when he had overheard Demura and Shigeru talk here this morning; _maybe they were getting naked and dance and sing in the moonlight_. Dammit, he should've stayed, he should've understood that dancing in the moonlight wasn't what they were up to.

Below him Demura summoned her family to start the ritual again. This time they all formed a circle around Ban and Ginji, leaving gaps in the circle to give clear paths between the gate and the tables. Shido saw how Demura kneeled beside one of the two low tables on which a large piece of paper was spread. There was also a kind of ball in a holder and the old woman dipped the ball in the whipped blood and painted the paper with the symbols carved on the ball.

When the paper was filled with symbols she folded it, laid it in a shallow bowl and with a small torch she lit on one of the fires, she put the paper on fire. The ashes were poured into the rest of the blood in the first bowl.

Demura then brought the bowl to her lips and took a small sip. She walked over to her eldest son in the circle and gave him a sip and continued around the circle to give everyone a taste of the ash mixed blood.

Shido was thinking fervently. He had to do something very quickly; it was obvious those two couldn't manage this by themselves. He couldn't really blame them, it was hell of a situation they were in, and now it was up to the Beast Master to save the day. If he could find out how before it was too late, that was. He sent out a call to his friends in the woods, but all response he got was a sense of fear. They didn't dare come to him.

From his position among the branches in the tree his eyes searched for something else that  could give him an idea. He looked at Ginji. The blonde guy was hanging limp and Shido couldn't see if he still was conscious or not. What would help Ginji? Electricity was the first that crossed his minds, but there was no way he could help Ginji recharge with electricity here. He moved his eyes to look at Midou. The Snake bastard was at least still conscious and at Shido's glance Ban seemed to notice something, he raised his head and caught Shido's eyes.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Well, I've reached the ending I had in mind when I started this story. During the writing  process the story has stretched out and become so much more, and there are now room for more action. So let's just say this is the end of part 1, and hopefully I'll write a part 2 or a sequel. Unfortunately that must wait until later. I have other writing plans at the moment, but I hope to come back to this adventure eventually.

TaoStrife: I hope you'll enjoy this even if it's the last chapter. 

Ivy Adrena: Yesss… blood…. And naked GetBackers. What more do you need?

Ai-chan3: You too like naked Ban and Ginji, huh? And the rescue? Well, here it comes.

stitcher2ficcer: Wow, "Queen  of Ban/Ginji Torture". Well, let's let X-parrot keep the crown and I'll threaten to take it away from her, unless she update 'Darkness Visible' soon, shall we? 

X-parrot: Hope you like the rescuing. It might be an unexpected one. And I hope you read the comment to stitcher2ficcer above ^_^

Naye: Thanks for reviewing in a mail when the net didn't want to cooperate with you.

To all who pointed out to me that the Demura teens were only plot devices, I would like to say Thank You. CC is always  appreciated. It helps me improve my skills, and I promise I'll think about it next time. ^_^

**Witch Hunt**

**Chapter eight**

Was it the Monkey Trainer in that tree? Ban couldn't really believe it. Partly because he didn't seem to be able to think straight and he couldn't find any reason why that bastard would be there, and partly because he wasn't sure he could believe his own eyes; his head still felt dizzy. He blinked and looked again. Oh, yes it was. 

The Monkey Trainer, heh. Well, if he could get Ginji out of here alive, Ban would swallow his pride just this once. Ban could feel Ginji's body against his back, but he hadn't moved at all since the blood drinking had begun. He wasn't sure whether Ginji had passed out or just was too weak to do anything at all, but with their backs together like this he could feel his partner's breathing so at least he knew Ginji was still alive.

Shido looked at Midou, considering. The Snake Bastard looked a little unfocused but he still had the usual arrogant look in his eyes and it was clear he hadn't given up hope of rescue. Whether that hope never had left him or if it  came back when he saw Shido, the Beast Master couldn't tell, and he really didn't care. It was good if Midou had the will to fight. Shido had to admit he wasn't sure he could do this all by himself, not with that magic using woman standing in the center, and his animal friends too afraid to enter the clearing. He hoped Midou had strength enough to lend him a hand in this; if he could get him free. 

Help from Ginji was probably out of the question. But at least there was no smell of death from his former emperor. Shido was glad he had the ability to sense that, or he would have been really worried, cause with Ginji's body hanging limp like this and his skin so pale he didn't look alive. 

The girls had said that Midou had been held by a spell before they painted his body with those symbols. As far as Shido could understand of what he had heard, that would mean the blood symbols on Midou's body was what held back the Snake Bastard's power. If he could wash the symbols off, maybe Ban would regain his powers. Shido couldn't think of anything else and he needed to be quick about whatever he would do, because now Demura took the big knife that lay on the other table and lifted it above her head. 

"It is time to do the first sacrifice! May Yami be pleased with the pure hearted one, the twin of light." She turned to face Ginji. Shigeru joined her with the bottle from which Demura  had given Ginji something to drink earlier, took a grip of his hair and pulled his head backwards, pouring the liquid into his mouth. Ginji swallowed by instinct and was thus forced to awaken. 

Shido saw Midou struggle helplessly with the ropes tying him to the gate. He knew how Midou would feel at the moment and could well understand the angry glares towards the tree where he sat. They clearly said: 'You bastard, come and help your emperor, like now!' 

At that moment Shido acted. By the pond stood the bucket used at the cleaning ritual. Shido climbed down the tree quickly, but silently as a cat, and just as silently sneaked to the pond. He was glad the whole family were very much focused on Demura and the sacrifice right now. The Beast Master managed to fill the bucket with water from the pond. Crouching, he encircled the Demura clan without being seen, all eyes were on the old witch and Ginji,  till he found a spot where he had a clear way to Midou. A clear way as soon as he had passed the circle of people, that was. The bucket was heavy and he had to run through the circle to Midou without loosing too much of the water, but it was his only chance. And he had to hurry, Demura lifted the knife in order to slice Ginji's throat.

Shido ran. There was a small opening between two women in the circle, he leapt into the gap, pushing them aside, another leap took him to Midou - on his way pushing the old witch away from Ginji - where he poured the cold water over the Snake Bastard's head and started to rub his body with his hands to clean off the symbols. 

First everybody looked petrified, the only sound heard was Midou's angry voice. "What the hell are you doing, you bastard!"

"Shut up, I'm helping you. Got it, moron?" Shido said behind gritted teeth as he continued to move his hands over Midou's body. Shit, he hated this, and he could see the Snake Bastard  didn't enjoy the action more than he did. 

Expecting an attack from the grown men in the tribe, he kept his senses aware of them all, not to let anyone of them take him by surprise; but the attack that came was not the expected one. His back was at the old witch the moment Demura threw the Sacrificer at him and he knew the knife had done some serious injury before he slid down to the ground unconscious. 

But his efforts had paid off. Ban had, as soon as the shock of having the Monkey Trainer's hands all over him, realized his powers were back. It was true he was weaker than usual since he too had lost a lot of blood, but the hell that was going to stop him. Without too much trouble he managed to break free.

The men, women and children of the Demura family attacked him. He didn't have any problem with fighting them off; he was determined to get that old Demura hag, but she was nowhere to be seen. He cast a glance at Ginji to see how he was, and found him awake, his partner met his eyes with a look that said, 'I knew you would make it'.

Ban reached for Ginji's ropes to untie him when he froze. Seemingly appearing from nowhere, the head of the Demura family stood beside him. She had somehow retrieved the Sacrificer from Shido's body and was now holding it against Ginji's throat. At the same time she held Ban's eyes caught and he could _not _use his Jagan, and not attack her. Fuck that old witch! 

"Go back and let Shigeru tie you up again." Her voice was strained like it took all she had to keep him from attacking her. "Or else I'll slit your partner's throat here and now."

Ban saw a glimpse of Ginji's eyes in the corner of his own. "Don't do it, Ban-chan. She'll kill me anyway." Ginji's voice was calm and Ban knew his friend was trying to assure him it  would be the right thing to do, leaving Ginji there to save his own life. 

"I know, Ginji." Damn. What could he do? He couldn't just wait until the hag's power to hold him off was worn out. She would cut Ginji's throat long before that. And letting himself be caught again would just lead to his own death beside Ginji's. Still, he couldn't run away,  leaving Ginji here to face this alone. Hell, he didn't know what to do.

There was a swooping sound. Or many of them to be precise. The Sacrificer was suddenly drawn out of Demura's hand and only a couple of seconds later both she and all of her family were tied up by thin strings. Ban turned and looked at Kazuki.

"Thread spool? What are you doing here?"     

Kazuki smiled gently at Ban. He knew better than to expect some sort of gratitude from him.

"It looks like I'm saving your life," he couldn't resist saying. 

Ban glared at him but hurried to untie Ginji and help him lay down to rest a bit, while Kazuki kneeled beside Shido.

"How're you doing, Ginji?" Ginji was pale in his arms but his eyes smiled at him with genuine happiness. Ban's heart was pounding; hell, this had been a close call. 

"I'm just fine, Ban-chan." Ginji answered weakly but happily, pulling Ban's arms closer around him. " Really I am. But what about you?"

Ban snorted, but wasn't able to keep away the tender smile from his face. "Nothing's wrong with me, idiot. It's you I'll always have to worry about." And if the Monkey Trainer and the Thread Spool hadn't showed up… Damn. Not really wanting to admit anything, Ban couldn't look away from the fact that those two had saved Ginji's life and he was grateful. Oh, and his own life too, but that was probably only because they knew Ginji would be sad if Ban had died. Heh, at least Ginji was his now, not theirs. Unless Ginji would go back to them now when he had seen how worthless Ban had been in this case. Ban was suddenly overwhelmed by uncertainty.

Ginji only smiled again, then he turned his head towards his two other friends.

"Kazu-chan, what happened to Shido?"

Kazuki had finished patching Shido up and left him to sit beside the GetBackers instead. "He'll be alright. He's awake and even if his wound is quite bad it's not life threatening. Juubei can take care of him when we're back, before we take him to Madoka. How are you, Ginji-san?"

Ginji sat up. "Fine. But how come you two are here?"

"Yeah. I'd like to know that too." Ban said grumpily.

Kazuki smiled. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to you on our way back to the cars."

He left them and returned a minute later with their clothes.

"I went first to the mansion to search for you. The only things I considered to be of any value were your clothes though. I brought them in case you needed them." He handed over the bundle with a teasing smile. "I guess you do need them."

"Thanks, Kazu-chan. It's a little uncomfortable like this," Ginji admitted and took the clothes. 

Ban muttered something and dressed himself. Ginji was weak but with shaking hands he tried to get dressed. The dressing didn't went very well and Ban took his clothes from him.

"Fool, you can't do it like that. I'll help you." With very gently hands he helped Ginji put on his clothes, carefully doing his best to avoid touching any of the many wounds on his best friend's body. He kneeled behind Ginji, helping him with the vest, and forgetting Kazuki's presence, he couldn't resist a light stroke on the blond's neck. _Ginji… I almost lost you._ Not realizing he had said those words aloud, he started as Ginji took his hand in his own and whispered almost to quiet to hear: "And I almost lost you, Ban-chan." 

Ban squeezed his partner's hand and at the same time saw a glimpse of Kazuki from the corner of his eye and realized the slender man was still there. He looked up, irritated, and found Kazuki watching the two of them with an amused smile.

"What are you fucking staring at, Thread Spool," Ban demanded.

Kazuki only laughed softly and Ban didn't push the question, because Ginji, giving Ban's hand a last squeeze then let go, at the same time managed to rise and walk the few steps to went to sit by Shido.

"Shido, are you alright?" 

"Just fine. What about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, too."

Kazuki and Ban stood beside them. 

"Shido, Kazu-chan. Thank you, you saved our lives." Ginji beamed at the two former kings.

Ban felt like he was going to choke. What the hell, Ginji was right, but dammit if he was going to tell them.

Shido grunted something in response to Ginji's thanks.

"You're welcome, Ginji-san." Kazuki smiled, more verbal than the Beast Master.

"Thank you, too, Ban-chan. You did a good job until the witch stuck the knife onto my throat." Ginji looked gratefully at his partner.

Ban made a sound very similar to the one Shido had made. Maybe Ginji didn't find him worthless after all? At least his gratitude seemed real.

"We better leave now." Kazuki said. "Shido, you lean on me. Midou-kun, you help Ginji-san."

Ban didn't really like the bossy tone in Kazuki's voice but he was too shaken to find a good response. Before they left there was one more thing that needed to be done, though. He left the others, went to the old witch and bent down at her side.

"What did you do, Ban-chan?" Ginji asked curiously, when he came back.

"Tell you later," was all Ban said.                 

"What about all these people?" Ginji turned to Kazuki and gestured at all the Demuras lying tied up on the ground.

Kazuki didn't even cast them a glance. "Oh, they will come free in about three hours."

---

They slowly progressed through the forest along the path to reach the mansion where they had left the Ladybug. During their walk, Kazuki, with some help from Shido, told them all about why they were there.

When Ginji learned Kazuki had cancelled an importing meeting for his sake - it was Shido who brought that up – in spite of his weak condition, he left Ban's helping hands and flung himself around Kazuki's neck.

"Kazu-chan, you're the best!"

Ban tightened his lips and trying to look like he only was helping Ginji to walk; he took away his partner's arms from the Thread Spool and put it back around his own shoulders. Ban saw the Monkey Trainer smirked, but fortunately for him, he didn't say anything.

Kazuki could only smile his usual smile to Ginji. He had really wanted to meet that man, but his loyalty to Ginji was too strong. It had only taken him a few minutes after Shido had left for him to realize that. By then it was already too late to take the same bus as Shido, and the next bus didn't leave for another three hours, so Kazuki had went to Madoka's house. Madoka wasn't anywhere near as fragile as Shido sometimes seemed to think, and Kazuki had told her more about what he and Shido were going to do than Shido had done.

That way he could borrow a car from her and had been able to reach the destination only a short time after Shido. It had taken him a little longer to find the clearing Shido had talked about, after he had made sure they were no longer in the house. And it turned out he was just in time. He had reached it at the same moment as Shido poured water over Ban.

"There was an invisible barrier to keep humans from the clearing," Shido recalled. "How did you get through it?"

Kazuki frowned. "There was no barrier, when I got there. Maybe you did something when you entered the circle that undid it?"

Shido vaguely remembered how he happened to thrust into a small bar with paper strips hanging down from it, making it fall over and being crushed under his feet as he rushed from the pond to get to Midou with the water as quickly as possible. "Yeah, maybe," he said.

They reached the gate in the fence and passed it. The house was quiet. Everyone was back at the clearing, so no one disturbed them as they walked to the Ladybug. Ban immediately took the seat behind the wheel, leaving Kazuki to help Shido into the back seat. Ginji of course sat beside Ban in front. 

"Don't you dare make my car all bloody, you damned monkey." Ban glared at Shido.

"Dump me on the road if you want, Snake Bastard. I don't care." Shido glared back just as viciously.

Ban only muttered something inaudible but didn't say or do anything else. He could hardly throw the guy out no matter how filthy his car might be of his blood. After all, that Monkey Trainer did help save their lives. He guessed he owed him a ride to the Thread Spool's borrowed car at least.

Kazuki had parked the car a little further from the house on one side of the road. He and Shido left the Ladybug to drive back home in Madoka's car. 

"Are you sure you're alright? You don't need any help with him, Kazu-chan?" Ginji asked.

Shido grunted. "You just take care of yourself, Ginji." 

"I don't need any help, Ginji-san. We'll be alright, do as Shido said and tend to yourself for a while."

Ginji beamed at him. "I will. And thanks again guys. I'm really glad having friends like you."

As the other two got seated in their car, Ginji turned to Ban who was sitting looking miserably at the blood stains one of his own cuts had made as it re-opened when he drove.

"Ban-chan, what if they come back for us? The Demuras, I mean?"

Shido had told them about the conversation he had overheard, and together with Kazuki's knowledge they had told them that the ritual had to be done before one year had passed or else the Demuras would become mere mortals again.

"They may be hunting us for another year or so, Ban-chan." Ginji sighed. "At least we're prepared now. I guess we could go ask Maria too, if she knows what to do about them."

Ban smirked. "It won't be necessary." From under his shirt he presented a big knife - the Sacrificer - in its sheath. "You asked me what I did before we left the clearing, well, they can't do the ritual without the knife and the ball. And I couldn't bear to come close to the Seikon, so I stole this."

He put the knife in Ginji's lap. "You take this while I drive."

Ginji took up the knife. "What are you going to do with it, Ban-chan?"

Ban shrugged. "I don't know. It's not a good idea to keep it in the Ladybug."  Reluctantly he said: " Probably it'll be best to let Maria take care of it."

"Probably is." Ginji nodded. "It was good you took it, Ban-chan. I don't wanna be in their hands again. We didn't even have a chance to fight. They didn't have much sense for fair play, did they?"

Ban snorted. "Do they ever?"

"Ban-chan?" What was that? Why did Ginji sound like that? Like, expectantly?

"Yeah," he answered slowly.

"When we hung there, you told me you were sorry, because you couldn't come up with anything, right?"

"Yeah." A careful answer. Where was this leading to?

"Right after that, before the old witch did something to you and I think you passed out for a while, you started to say something. What was that?"

Ginji remembered that? All he had been able to say way was 'Gin…'. 

"Did I say something? I don't remember. It was all kind of dizzy at that time." Ban sighed inwards. He really had to learn how to lie to Ginji. Not that he wanted to lie that much, but sometimes little white lies were more… convenient. And it was so hard to fool that guy. Ban knew the moment the words were out of his mouth, Ginji wouldn't believe it. Could it be that he actually wanted Ginji to hear what he had to say, and his subconscious therefore didn't let him lie in a believable way?

As expected Ginji protested. "Yes, you did. And you do remember. Tell me!" 

Ban cast a glance at his partner. No, Ginji was more than his partner. Letting go of the steering wheel with his left hand, he laid the arm around Ginji's neck pulling him closer. With one eye on the road he leaned towards the blond, whispering something in his ear.

Ginji's eyes opened up big and beamed at him. Smiling, he turned his head to come face to face with Ban and tenderly put his lips against Ban's in a short kiss. "And I love you, Ban-chan."

---

Next day the GetBackers had a little party at the Honky Tonk, spending all the money they had gotten in advance payment from Demura Shigeru. It had been Ginji's idea, and he had had to work real hard to get Ban to see his point.

"We owe them."

"No way."

"They saved our lives, Ban-chan!"

"Didn't ask them, too."

"We might need them again, and if we don't show our gratitude they may not be there next time."

"I seriously doubt we ever gonna need them again." And if they did, Ban knew those friends of Ginji's would be there anytime to help their emperor, whether they wanted their help or not. Just like Ban himself would be if Ginji needed him.

"But they are our friends."

"Your friends."

"Ban-chan, it'll be fun."

"Heh, fun? You're kidding, right?"

"If we treat them this time, they might treat us when we're broke."

"Won't take any charity from the Monkey Trainer and the Thread Spool."

The conversation went on like this until Ban neither could stand Ginji's nagging nor his big, brown, beautiful eyes. His eyes so full of hope, trust, promises… uh, Ban had to mentally  shake himself. What were they talking about? Oh, yes, the damned party.

"Fine, fine, we'll have a party. Happy?"

"Thanks, Ban-chan!" Ginji was suddenly hanging around his neck, beaming like no one but he could and Ban knew he had lost again. But it wasn't important to win against Ginji. Somehow, every time he was defeated by Ginji it still felt like a victory.

Owari

I wonder how many of you who suspected Kazuki to save the day? Kazuki is one of my favorites, I just love him, and I haven't let him be seen in my stories very much, but this time I wanted him to make the difference.

Thanks to all my reviewers, and I hope all you who have read but not reviewed still liked it. Now I'm making a pause in GetBackers writing and instead write another Saiyuki-fic. 

If you haven't yet discovered the world of Saiyuki, you've really missed something. (End of commercial.)


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